Legal Options and Remedies for Teens Experiencing Digital Dating Violence

The purpose of this document is to help teens experiencing teen digital dating violence understand what their legal options are. This document explains the different laws that can be used to hold perpetrators of teen digital dating violence accountable. It also goes through the steps that you must take if you decide to formally begin legal proceedings as a victim of teen digital dating violence. For more information, see our Legal Remedies for Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence Toolkit. If you are unsure about the meaning of any words used in this document, please see Definitions of Legal Terms: Civil and Family Law and Definitions of Legal Terms: Criminal Law.

Note: You are not limited to using only one type of law. If you are experiencing teen digital dating violence, any law that applies to your situation can be used. For example, if someone has shared intimate photos of you online, you can start criminal proceedings against them for committing a crime. You can start a civil lawsuit against the individual and ask for compensation and an injunction. You can also obtain a peace bond to prevent them from contacting you.

The law can help ensure that perpetrators of teen digital dating violence are held responsible for their actions. Different laws will apply in different circumstances. This document goes over four general areas of law that can help stop teen digital dating violence: criminal law, civil law, human rights protection, and peace bonds.

A criminal offence is a crime that is punishable by law. In Canada, criminal offences are found in the Criminal Code. The following list sets out the criminal offences that could apply in cases of teen digital dating violence. When going through this list, think about whether your abuser has committed any of the following crimes.

1. Criminal Harassment: Section 264 of the Criminal Code states that it is a crime to repeatedly follow someone, communicate with someone, watch a person’s home, OR engage in threatening conduct towards someone if that conduct causes the person to fear for their safety.
   1. Be aware that “harassment” is not the same as “criminal harassment.” For instance, receiving unwanted text messages is a form of harassment. But it is only criminal harassment if these texts are repetitive and cause you to fear for your safety.
   2. Notice that this crime could potentially apply to many types of teen digital dating violence. Harassment, stalking, intimidation, impersonation, and the sharing of intimate images could all be considered criminal harassment.
      1. If someone is doing something that makes you fear for your safety, there is a good chance that they are committing criminal harassment.
2. Uttering Threats: Section 264.1 of the Criminal Code states that it is an offence to threaten to cause bodily harm to a person or threaten to destroy their property.
   1. Unlike criminal harassment, the crime of uttering threats does not require you to fear for your safety. As long as a threat has been made, a crime has potentially been committed.
3. Extortion: Section 346 of the Criminal Code states that it is an offence to use threats to make a person do something.
4. Intimidation: Section 423 of the Criminal Code states that it is an offence to use intimidating behaviour to prevent a person from doing something.
   1. Intimidating behaviour could include violence, threats online or in person, following a person, or watching or monitoring a person’s home.
5. Publication of an Intimate Image Without Consent: Section 162.1 of the Criminal Code states that it is an offence to publish, distribute, make available, or advertise an intimate image of a person without their consent.
   1. Notice that an intimate image does not need to be shown to another person for this offence to apply. As long as someone advertises the images, this offence has been committed. For example, if an ex tells his friends that he can show them intimate images of you, this counts as advertising an intimate image.
6. Distribution of Child Pornography: Section 163.1(3) of the Criminal Code states that it is an offence to distribute a sexual image or video that shows a person who is or is depicted as being under the age of eighteen years.
   1. Even if you agree to let someone share a sexual image of you, it is still a crime if you are under the age of 18.¹
7. Luring a Child: Section 172.1 of the Criminal Code states that it is an offence to use the internet to communicate with a teen for the purposes of persuading that teen to meet up for sexual activities.
   1. This offence could apply in situations where an adult is pressuring you to send them sexual photos or text messages. Even if you have not met in person yet, if the adult has intentions of eventually meeting you in person for sex, then this offence has been committed.

If you think a crime has been committed against you, you could consider starting formal criminal law proceedings. Your abuser could face punishment for their actions if they are found guilty of the crime. The punishment for committing a crime will vary depending on the situation.

Sometimes the punishment could be a fine, other times it could be a certain amount of jail time.

You have the option to engage in the criminal process and make a report to the police, but you may not want to do so for a variety of legitimate reasons (e.g. not wanting to testify). This may not be your only option, as many provinces and territories have alternative civil remedies that may be better suited for the type of digital abuse you experience. If you do decide to pursue criminal law proceedings, the following information is important to know.

1. Before you take any formal steps to begin criminal law proceedings, consider applying to the Crime Victim Assistance Program. This program may be able to help you with certain expenses and provide support and counselling. You can apply to the program as soon as a crime against you has taken place. Your abuser does not need to be arrested or charged with a crime for you to apply.
2. To begin formal criminal law proceedings, you must start by reporting your abuser to the police. This is required if you want your abuser to be charged with a crime.
   1. Bring your evidence to the police station and ask to speak to an officer.
   2. If your evidence includes personal information or images that you feel uncomfortable sharing, ask the officer what your options are.
3. The officer will investigate your case. During an investigation, the officer may speak to other witnesses such as your family and friends.
   1. If the officer refuses to investigate and takes no further action, talk to their supervisor to see what can be done. You can ask for the officer’s supervisor at the reception/front desk of the police station. If the supervisor also refuses to investigate further, you can consider laying an information if you think that your case should be investigated further.
4. After investigating your case, the police will consider whether or not they think your abuser should be charged with a crime.
   1. If the answer is yes, the police will recommend that Crown counsel charge your abuser with a crime. Crown counsel are lawyers who work for the government.
   2. If the answer is no, the police will not recommend that Crown counsel charge your abuser with a crime.
      1. This means that your case will not proceed any further. However, if you still believe that your abuser has committed a crime against you and should be charged with a crime, you should talk to the officer’s supervisor. If the supervisor also refuses to move forward with your case, you can consider laying an information.
5. If Crown counsel receives a recommendation from the police to charge your abuser with a crime, the Crown will decide whether or not they agree with the police.
   1. If Crown counsel agrees with the police’s recommendation, they will charge your abuser with the crime.
      1. This does not mean that your abuser is automatically guilty of the crime. Your abuser will appear in court where it will be decided if they are guilty or not. Your abuser will have a chance to defend themselves. If your abuser is found guilty of committing the crime, they will receive a punishment that will depend on the circumstances of your situation.
      2. You may also be asked to testify in court about your experience and any evidence you brought forward.
   2. If Crown counsel does not agree with the police’s recommendation, they will not charge your abuser with a crime.
      1. This means that your case will not proceed any further.
      2. If you disagree with the Crown’s decision, you should ask them to tell you why they are not proceeding with your case. The law requires them to tell you the reason behind their decision.
         1. Crown counsel will not proceed with a case if they think there isn’t enough evidence. You can ask the Crown to tell you what evidence is missing. If you discover new evidence, you should bring it to the attention of the Crown. Crown counsel will generally move forward with a case if they think there is enough evidence to prove that a crime has been committed.

If criminal charges proceed, you might want to bring a person with you to support you such as a trusted adult, support worker, or legal advocate in your community.

Normally, if you think a crime has been committed against you, you must report it to the police to start formal criminal law proceedings. However, sometimes the police may not think your case is serious enough to move forward with. If this happens to you, you may still be able to move your case forward by “laying an information.” Laying an information is a process where you provide information about a crime to a court instead of the police. The process of laying an information is set out below.

1. Make sure you know which criminal offence has been committed. There is a list of criminal offences above that commonly occur during teen digital dating violence.
   1. If no crime has been committed, you shouldn’t proceed with laying an information.
2. If you think that a crime has been committed, go to a courthouse that has a court registry. Only staffed courthouses have a court registry.
3. Tell the court registry that you would like to lay an information.
4. There will be someone at the courthouse who you will give information to about the crime that has been committed.
   1. The information you give will be passed along to a judge or justice of the peace.
   2. The information will also be passed along to Crown counsel.
5. There will be a process hearing in court. This means you will have to attend court and speak to a judge. During the process hearing, you will have to present the court with evidence showing that your abuser committed the crime you say they committed.
   1. You should bring all the evidence that you have collected. See Preserving Evidence of Teen Digital Dating Violence for more information on how to collect evidence.
   2. Crown counsel will also be present in court and may ask you questions about your evidence.
6. If the judge is satisfied with your evidence, they will order your abuser to attend court at a later date.
   1. This does not mean that your abuser is automatically guilty of a crime. Your abuser will have a chance to defend themselves in court. Crown counsel will be responsible for arguing that your abuser is guilty. You may also have to go to court again as a witness. If your abuser is found guilty of committing the crime, they will receive a punishment dependent on the circumstances of your situation.

Disclaimer: After step 4, Crown counsel can intervene and stop this process at any time if they feel that you do not have a strong case. This would mean that your case does not proceed any further and steps 5 and 6 do not happen.

Civil law allows you to sue another person for the harm they have caused you. You are not accusing the other person of committing a crime. You are just saying that you have been harmed by the other person and should be compensated for the harm. If you are experiencing teen digital dating violence, you may want to consider starting a civil lawsuit against your abuser. If you win your lawsuit, you can receive compensation (i.e. money) from the person that you are suing. In some cases, you can also receive an injunction if you win your lawsuit. An injunction is an order from the court that forces your abuser to do something. For example, an injunction can be used to order an abuser to delete insulting social media posts about you.

As a teenager, your ability to begin a civil lawsuit is unfortunately quite limited. You have 2 options when it comes to starting a civil lawsuit.

1. Teenagers (under 19 years old) are not allowed to begin civil lawsuits. You must ask an adult to sue on your behalf. This adult is called a litigation guardian or representative. Your litigation guardian/representative can be a family member or any other adult you trust. It is recommended that your litigation guardian hire a lawyer, but it is not required in most cases. Your litigation guardian/representative can start a civil lawsuit for you by following the instructions in your province or territory.
2. If, for some reason, you cannot ask an adult in your life to be your litigation guardian/representative, see if your province or territory offers a public guardian or trustee program that can sue on your behalf. You should also tell them why you cannot ask an adult in your life to be your litigation guardian. If a public guardian takes your case, they may be able to hire a lawyer who will be in charge of it.

Note: Only consider this section if the teen digital dating violence you are experiencing is happening at school and your abuser is another student.

Provinces and territories may have a Human Rights Code that protects people from discrimination for their race, colour, place of origin, religion, physical disability, mental disability, sex, gender identity or expression, and sexual orientation. Under human rights protections, your school may have a responsibility to make sure that you are not being targeted by other students in a discriminatory way. For example, if someone you are dating repeatedly texts racist jokes about you to your classmates, your school must make a genuine effort to stop the abuse. If your school is aware of the abuse and does not make a genuine effort to stop it, you can go to the Human Rights Tribunal and file a complaint against your school. The Tribunal will decide whether your school has failed to provide an environment that is free from discriminatory conduct. If the Tribunal decides that your school has not done enough to stop the discriminatory conduct, you can get compensation (i.e. money) from your school.

If you are experiencing discriminatory teen digital dating violence at your school, suing your school for negligence in civil law is always another option. Search for your province’s Human Rights Code for more information on how to.

A peace bond is a court order that prevents an abuser from contacting you. A peace bond can also:

• Prevent your abuser from being within a certain distance of you
• Prevent your abuser from going to certain places that you frequent
• Prevent your abuser from carrying weapons

See Peace Bonds and Protection Orders for Victims of TFGBV to learn more.

Digital Dating Violence is part of a continuum of violence that can be both online and in-person. If you or someone you know is experiencing digital dating violence, you are not alone. Encourage them to chat with a trusted adult, connect with the Kids Help Phone to create a safety plan, or you can use sheltersafe.ca to find a shelter/transition house near you to discuss options and create a safety plan. You don’t need to stay in a shelter to access free, confidential services and support.

We gratefully acknowledge Sherry Xu, JD Candidate, Peter A. Allard School of Law, UBC for the creation of this document.