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Are Secret Sex Abuse Settlements Unethical?
When sex abuse lawsuits settle out of court confidentiality agreements are often an accompanying term. Â The Abuser (or institutions who employed the abuser) often suggest such clauses. Â If a victim of abuse enters into such a contract and later speaks out they can jeopardize their settlement.
The CBC has recently reported that “Scouts Canada has signed out-of-court confidentiality agreements with more than a dozen child sex-abuse victims in recent years“.  This issue has a connection to British Columbia with CBC’s interactive map documenting some Scouts related abuse cases in BC.
A reader of this blog recently asked the following pointed question: “Would your parents have put you in Scouts if those cases had been published? “
This is a good question worth publicly posting here.  Is there any good that comes from confidentiality agreements in sex abuse litigation?  If not is there any reason why these agreements should be enforceable given the greater harm that secrecy can create?
This site is created by MacIsaac & Company, a British Columbia Personal Injury Lawfirm. This website is not affiliated in any way with the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC).This web site is made possible through funding provided by the British Columbia law firm MacIsaac and Company. bc-injury-law.com is designed to empower individuals to better understand their ICBC Claim and the process involved in dealing with ICBC. This web site is offered for information only and is not claim-specific legal advice. Use of the site and sending or receiving information through it does not establish a solicitor / client relationship. Links to and from this website do not state or imply a relationship between MacIsaac and Company and the linked entity.
October 24th, 2011 at 10:14 am
[…] Are Secret Sex Abuse Settlements Unethical?  (bc-injury-law.com) […]
October 24th, 2011 at 11:07 am
It’s with great sadness that I read about these cases. A close friend of mine is a scout leader, and I know full well the hard work and concerted planning that goes into working with these kids. Reports such as this severely damage the reputation of Scouts, but I think the information needs to be shared with the public.
I have a question though - can teachers in the school system similarly settle secretly? We occasionally hear about cases in the news, but I don’t know whether those are simply the high-profile ones, or whether there are others that are settled in secret.
October 24th, 2011 at 11:23 am
Tim, thank you for your balanced and thoughtful comment. I have little doubt that there are many hard working well intentioned individuals in Scouts Canada and it is unfortunate that their good deeds become tainted in the fall-out of stories such as this.
Stories such as this reveal that it is the cover up, not the crime that perhaps does the most harm to an institutions reputation. If large institutions know of abuse and cover it up it can lead to further abuse. This leads to lack of trust and well deserved public fallout.
To address your question, yes teachers and the school system can also enter into secret settlements. Secrecy is commonplace in sex abuse settlements be it with individuals, government, religious organizations or other large institutions.
Yours truly,
Erik
October 24th, 2011 at 4:38 pm
Personally, I believe that all out of court settlements in these type of cases is wrong, although there is the balance of keeping victims out of court. If they wanted to have their day, then don’t settle.
Anyway, I disagree with them, but I have never been involved with one, neither professionally or thankfully personally. I may change my mind than!
October 26th, 2011 at 6:40 am
This needs to be considered from the viewpoint of the victim.
I am a lawyer who has represented many victims of sexual abuse. I have had interviews with way more than I have represented. The reason for this is once I explain the process, and the fact that they may have to again “confront” the abuser or that their friends and family may find out, they don’t want to proceed.
The Court process brings back all the memories and forces the victim to “re-live” the event or events many times over - interviews with the lawyer, seeing psychologists who are hired as experts, and worse yet, answering questions from the abuser’s lawyer who has the right to ask very intimate and personal questions. That’s before the matter gets in open court.
It gets worse. I tell them the abuser will likely tell people the victim is a liar, and making it up. This means they either have to sit silent or go on the defensive.
When the opportunity comes for a quick and quiet settlement, where they will receive some compensation from the abuser with a secrecy clause, what should the victim do?
October 26th, 2011 at 8:07 am
Terry, thanks for your comment.
I completely agree a victim can’t be faulted for taking the certainty that comes with settlement. Avoiding the risk, anxiety and potential humiliation that can accompany litigation are all valid reasons for victims of sexual abuse to look for resolution by agreement.
Many victims have little desire to discuss their claim or their settlement after its achieved. Often the settlement is the final chapter in a part of their life they will gladly put behind them.
Appreciating that confidentiality clauses are not for the victim’s benefit in circumstances of on-going institutional abuse, I simply question whether there is any benefit to such clauses being enforceable given that covered up institutional abuse can lead to further abuse.
Thanks again for visiting.
Yours truly,
Erik
December 19th, 2011 at 8:51 am
[…] Earlier this year I posed the question “are secret sex abuse settlements unethical?“. […]