Here in NS if you're threatened by someone it is quite a process (and a costly one) to apply to get a peace bond, and no assurances on getting one either. While I have no statistics at hand it would stand to reason that more often than not it is a women who need protection for herself and perhaps her children. With the date to accept/deny the application; a likely tit-for-tat counter peace bond application (which more often than not is fiction); another date to accept/deny the counter application and then a hearing date the legal cost is bound to approximate $3,000. Women often earn less than men; and in some cases have little income as the sole care-giver of the children. In my opinion the process is an unnecessarily complicated and costly process that discourages its use. But then perhaps that is the point. I would think that protecting women in our culture should be more important. Women shouldn't have to stand in a public courtroom in a small community with a visible coconut telegraph present, either. I cannot understand the big deal for a simple request that a person who has threatened you does not come near you.
By contrast, south of the border, if a person has been assaulted or threatened that involved the police, they go to the court house and request a restraining order. It is a simple process, with a standardized distance that the person cannot come near the applicant. It is immediate once the person is served; and the legal protection is in place. IMO this would be a good change for the legal system in NS. —Bluenoser