Sexual Assault in Canada

Financial compensation for Canadian victims of sexual abuse.

Canadian victims of rape, sexual assault and child sexual abuse may be eligible for financial compensation. If you've been sexually assaulted, or sexually abused as a child, you too may be eligible for compensation, even if the abuse occurred decades ago.

Sexual assault lawsuits are an evolving area of the law, but courts all across Canada have been awarding money to sexual assault victims who sue their assailant. Sometimes cases are resolved without a lawsuit being formally filed.

Protecting Your Identity

Confidentiality is important to sexual assault victims who sue the assailant. Most lawsuits settle out of court and outside of the public eye. Confidentiality agreements also keep the identities of the victims secret. For cases that do go to court, there are publication bans and the court can restrict access to the proceedings.

Does the assailant have to be charged criminally?

Absolutely not. Having a criminal conviction is very good evidence in support of your case, but just because no criminal charges were filed doesn't mean you cannot sue for damages. The civil lawsuit and the criminal process are two completely separate proceedings.

Abuse occurred decades ago

By its very nature, sexual assault is something that many people do not talk about and as such claims are sometimes buried for decades. While the passing of time is relevant to your case (witnesses and assailants die, lose capacity, etc.), it does not necessarily prevent you from persuing financial compensation. This being said, your failure to contact a lawyer as soon as possible may hinder your ability to persue financial compensaton in the future.

Do I have a case?

Don't think that just because you are the only witness, or because you didn't go to a Doctor to collect physical evidence that you don't have a case. This is normal. Please contact our sponsoring lawyer for more information or feel free to read more on our page about sexual assault lawsuits.