Extending Time Limits in Sexual Abuse Cases: A Critical Comparative Evaluation

Abstract

An issue common to many common law jurisdictions is the question of civil claims based on alleged past sexual abuse brought a long time after the events. Many survivors of such abuse only make the allegations public, if ever, many years after the abuse took place. Each jurisdiction has time limits within which civil claims must be brought. There are generally sound policy reasons for such limits: to discourage lax attempts to enforce or vindicate claims; to respect the right of the defendant to not have stale claims brought; and to allow for a fair trial given the likelihood that the quality of evidence will deteriorate over time. However, it is difficult to impose such regimes on survivors of sexual abuse who come forward much later. The paper explores psychological literature that helps to explain why it is that such victims may only come forward, if ever, many years after the events. It is submitted that legal systems generally need to take a much more flexible approach to extension of time claims in such contexts, and avoid judgments as to when a victim ‘should have’ brought their claim. It will be concluded that the approach of several Canadian provinces, removing the limitation period in such cases, is the preferred approach.