Letter calling for legal aid for anti-violence organizations protecting clients’ counselling records
In June 2019, West Coast LEAF, EVA BC and Surrey Women’s Centre wrote to the Attorney General of BC to call for adequate legal aid for anti-violence organizations facing applications to disclose client counselling records to defense counsel as part of sexual assault cases. As it stands now, anti-violence organizations with very limited budgets are being forced to cover their own legal costs in order to defend their clients’ privacy. Sexual assault survivors should be able to trust that the counselling and other support services offered by community organizations will be safe and confidential.