Alberta Big Brothers Big Sisters Institutional Sexual Abuse
Numerous reports by victims have shown that young people suffered institutional abuse that was sexual, physical, and psychological in nature while participating in Big Brothers’ youth mentorship programs. Survivors harmed by these wrongdoings are entitled to seek damages through a civil legal claim. For many survivors, this can be an important and fulfilling step in their healing. If you were abused as a “little brother” or a “little sister” and want to make a claim, our legal team can help you seek justice.
The Big Brothers and Big Sisters are parallel programs that started in the early 1900s with the aim of mentoring young people, especially those who are vulnerable due to factors like abuse, personal loss, and poverty. Because they lack positive adult role models in the community, little brothers and little sisters are matched with adult big brothers and big sisters. Mentors meet regularly with their mentees, for example once or twice a month.
The Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada organization, in its own words, aims to “ignite the potential of youth” through that mentorship. Every year, tens of thousands of volunteers offer their time and energy to tens of thousands of children and youths.
Although the organization checks the background of mentors, some perpetrators of abuse nevertheless slipped through the screening process and then took advantage of the trust placed in them by the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization.
Our Calgary institutional abuse lawyers represent many clients who were sexually abused as minors, including cases involving Big Brothers Big Sisters groups. Our legal team is ready to listen, believe, and serve you with an understanding, trauma-informed approach where you are, and feel, in control of every decision.
Who Is Defendant If I Make an Institutional Abuse Claim?
The public is probably most familiar with the one-on-one mentoring relationships between big brothers or big sisters and their little brothers and sisters, respectively. However, Big Brothers and Big Sisters chapters also provide site-specific mentoring to groups in settings like schools and youth clubs.
In Alberta, Big Brothers Big Sisters is divided into eight member agencies, each headquartered in a community, such as Calgary, Edmonton, and so on. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada is the federation of all local member agencies across the country. They may have failed in their duty of care to you as a participant, for example by having inadequate screening procedures in place or ignoring past complaints about the perpetrator.
Your legal counsel can help figure out the appropriate defendants in your case, which could include both the local agency that offered the program you took part in and the Big Brothers Big Sisters countrywide organization.
Besides adults assigned as big brothers and big sisters, it is also possible that abuse occurred at the hands of paid staff or other volunteers. We encourage you to discuss your situation with a qualified institutional abuse lawyer. You do not have to navigate this journey alone.
What Is Sexual Abuse?
The definitions of sexual abuse and sexual assault cover a wide range of non-consensual acts, not only the most violent and severe. Sometimes, sexual abuse might not even involve physical contact, for example if a perpetrator exposes his genitals to a victim or films a victim without clothes on.
Instances of sexual abuse may include (but are not limited to):
- Unwanted touching or sexual acts
- Abuse that occurred over or under clothing, in private or public settings
- Single or repeated incidents
Any form of unwanted or inappropriate sexual contact may be considered abuse, no matter how severe, even if it was very brief and/or only happened once. Legally, it is impossible in Canada for minors to consent to any sexual activity with anyone who is in a position of trust, authority, or care.
If you believe you were abused, we encourage you to speak with us. While you may doubt your own memories and perceptions, as many survivors do, we are here to make sense of your case and advise you of your options for legal action.
Common Experiences of Survivors
Every victim’s story is unique, as are the effects of abuse on him or her. While experiences vary widely, many of our clients have described dealing with similar challenges, which you may recognize in yourself. These include (but are not limited to):
- Emotional struggles like anger, depression, or shame
- Difficulty in relationships or trust issues
- Sleep problems
- Impact on mental and physical health
- Substance abuse
- Difficulty maintaining stable employment
- Distrust in authorities
- Lifelong pain and suffering
Frequently, our clients have difficulty connecting their abuse with the effects over the rest of their lives. In the words of one of our institutional abuse lawyers, survivors are “easier to harm and harder to heal” because of the harm done to them, making them more susceptible to a host of health problems.
Perpetrators may threaten, coerce, or blame victims for being abused, leaving survivors with feelings of guilt and shame. We stress that what happened to you is not your fault.
Is It Too Late?
Most provinces, including Alberta, specifically allow survivors of sexual abuse and sexual assault to file civil legal claims regardless of when the offence occurred. Since the civil court process operates separately from the criminal one, there is no need to have reported your abuse to police in the past, and no obligation to do so if you pursue justice through a civil claim.
However, it is your right to report to police if you wish and they are obliged to treat your complaint seriously, no matter how much time has passed or the severity of your sexual abuse or sexual assault.
Usually, survivors speak to us many decades after they were abused. We understand that the decision to come forward is difficult and could bring up many unpleasant feelings and memories. If you feel ready, we can take care to minimize your involvement in the claims process and ensure we work at a pace you are comfortable with. Even if you start proceedings and later feel overwhelmed, it is OK to pause or even step away entirely.
What Kinds of Compensation Do We Seek?
The compensation we pursue falls into two main categories, economic and non-economic, also known as pecuniary and non-pecuniary, respectively. Economic damages are tangible losses that are easier to calculate, like lost wages. Non-economic damages are intangible and so are harder to value, but nevertheless represent very real losses, such as pain and suffering.
Types of damages include (but are not limited to):
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life and dignity
- Losses from having trouble forming healthy relationships
- Rehabilitation costs
- Lost wages both past and future
We will work with you to determine what damages and monetary compensation are appropriate to your case. In some cases, we may be able to secure formal written apologies to institutional abuse survivors from organizations that acknowledge their part in your suffering.
In general, very few institutional abuse cases reach the trial stage. Your involvement in the claims process can be minimal and it is very unlikely that you will have to face your abuser. A likelier outcome is that your lawyer will negotiate a settlement with Big Brothers Big Sisters. Claims are typically resolved within 1-3 years.
Is This a Class Action?
No, we believe that all institutional abuse survivors deserve to tell their individual stories and have their cases decided according to their own merits. This is not possible in a class-action lawsuit, where a group of plaintiffs with many varied claims are tried based on one or at most a few representative cases. For this reason, our firm does not represent institutional abuse clients in class actions.
Class-action lawsuits also prejudice victims’ access to justice, since victims fitting the class description who do not opt out of the lawsuit by a set deadline are bound to its success or failure and cannot launch their own legal claims (although they may not have known of the class action or deadline in the first place).
Additionally, our experience is that the compensation awarded in class actions tends to be much less (when divided among all claimants) compared to compensation for claims filed individually.
Evidence from other institutional abuse cases and any resulting civil and criminal investigations might be relevant and helpful to supporting your own claim, for example if your abuser was accused of harming others as well.
Call Us to Discuss Your Alberta Big Brothers Big Sisters Abuse Claim
Contact us for a free initial consultation by calling 1-888-494-7191 if you are considering making an institutional sexual abuse claim against Big Brothers Big Sisters. We can answer any questions you might have about your specific circumstances. Our toll-free line is always staffed to take
