BILL NO. 4
(as introduced)
1st Session, 63rd General Assembly
Nova Scotia
66 Elizabeth II, 2017
Dignity for Victims of Sexual Violence Act
Karla MacFarlane
Pictou West
First Reading: September 26, 2017
Second Reading:
Third Reading:
Explanatory Note
This Bill entitles a victim of sexual violence to be treated with respect when testifying about the sexual violence and enshrines the right of a victim of sexual violence to legal representation. It also requires the Director of Victim Services to pay, out of the General Revenue Fund of Nova Scotia, the reasonable costs of legal representation for a victim of sexual violence who wants, but cannot afford, legal representation in relation to the prosecution of the accused.
An Act to Amend Chapter 14
of the Acts of 1989,
the Victims' Rights and Services Act
Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:
1 This Act may be cited as the Dignity for Victims of Sexual Violence Act.
2 Section 2 of Chapter 14 of the Acts of 1989, the Victims' Rights and Services Act, as amended by Chapter 36 of the Acts of 1992, is amended by adding immediately after clause (d) the following clause:
(ii) any attempt to obtain a sexual act,
(iii) any unwanted sexual comments, or
(iv) any advances or act to traffic, or otherwise directed, against a person's sexuality using coercion,
by any person, contrary to an enactment of the Province or of the Parliament of Canada, regardless of the person's relationship to the victim and the setting in which the act or attempted act occurs;
3 Section 3 of Chapter 14 is amended by adding immediately after subsection (1) the following subsection:
(a) the right to be treated with respect when giving evidence about the sexual violence; and
(b) the right to legal representation in relation to the prosecution of the accused.
(2) The fees and expenses payable under subsection (1) must be paid out of the General Revenue Fund of the Province.
(3) The money required for the purpose of this Section must be paid out of money appropriated for that purpose by the Legislature and, for greater certainty, no money is payable pursuant to this Section until the money is appropriated by the Legislature.
This page and its contents published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and © 2017 Crown in right of Nova Scotia. Created September 26, 2017. Send comments to legc.office@novascotia.ca.
