Civil Claims for Sexual Assault Survivors
Zayouna Law Firm acts for survivors of sexual assault bringing civil claims in Ontario, on their own timeline.
There is no deadline on a civil sexual assault claim.
Ontario amended its Limitations Act, 2002 in 2016 to remove the limitation period for civil claims based on sexual assault. There is no two-year window, no cutoff, and the change applies regardless of when the assault took place. A claim from decades ago is not out of time.
The practical effect is that the timing belongs to you. There is no legal clock creating pressure to decide before you are ready. Questions about evidence and about whether a defendant or an institution can still be located do get harder with time, and they are worth discussing early — but discussing them is not the same as starting something. Nothing is filed unless you say so.
A TRUSTED RECORD
OF ADVOCACY AND RESULTS
FOR CLIENTS
What a civil claim can and cannot do
A civil claim is about compensation, not punishment. It can recover for the harm itself, for the treatment and counselling that follows, and for what the assault cost in earnings, education or the ability to work at all. What it cannot do is produce a criminal conviction, and it is worth being clear about that at the outset so the decision is made on accurate terms.
For some survivors the point is the record — a formal, adjudicated acknowledgement that it happened and that someone was responsible. For others it is the funding for what recovery actually requires. Both are legitimate reasons to bring a claim, and neither is a reason anyone else gets to judge.
The outcomes shown below come from other areas of the firm’s practice. They are a record, not a prediction.
A PROVEN RECORD OF RESULTS
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Cause for Sexual Assault Claims
Ontario removed the limitation period for civil claims based on sexual assault. There is no two year window and no cutoff, which means the decision about whether and when to bring a claim belongs to you.
A civil claim is separate
A criminal prosecution and a civil claim are different processes with different purposes. The criminal system is run by the Crown, aims at punishment, and requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt. A civil claim is yours to control, aims at compensation, and is decided on the balance of probabilities, which is a lower standard. You can bring a civil claim whether or not you reported to police, whether or not charges were laid, and whether or not a prosecution ended in acquittal.
Who a claim can be against
The person responsible, and in some circumstances an institution that enabled the harm or failed to act on what it knew. That can include an employer, a school, a sports organization or a care facility, where the claim is that its own negligence or its responsibility for its staff contributed. Institutional claims are often the more practical route to compensation, because institutions carry insurance and individuals frequently do not.
Our Sexual Assault Claims Process
The pace is set by you. A first conversation is confidential and carries no obligation to proceed, and nothing is filed until you decide to file it.
Consultation
A first conversation is confidential, free, and carries no obligation to go any further. You will not be asked to recount more than you want to. What the meeting is for is to set out your options — including the option of not bringing a claim — so that whatever you decide, you are deciding with accurate information rather than guessing. Many people have this conversation and take months to think about it. That is a normal use of it.
File your Sexual Assault claim
Nothing is filed until you instruct it. When you do, the work begins with identifying who the claim is against: the individual responsible, and where the facts support it, an institution that enabled the harm or failed to act on what it knew. That can be an employer, a school, a sports organization or a care facility.
Institutional claims are often the more practical route to compensation, simply because institutions carry insurance and individuals frequently do not. From there the firm assembles the supporting record — counselling and medical notes, employment or academic history, and any contemporaneous account of what happened.
Resolution
The large majority of civil claims resolve without a trial. Court proceedings are generally public, though protections exist and can be sought, and that is a fair thing to weigh before anything is filed rather than after. If at any point you decide not to continue, that decision is yours and it is respected. Where a claim does proceed and the other side will not resolve it reasonably, the file is built to be tried.
Service Areas
Sexual Assault Toronto
Civil claims for survivors in Toronto, including claims involving institutions and employers.
Sexual Assault Burlington
Civil claims for survivors in Burlington and Halton, handled from the Ironstone Drive office.
Sexual Assault Ontario
Claims taken from survivors across Ontario, including historical claims where the assault took place many years ago.
Our Sexual Assault Claims Expertise
Zayouna Law Firm advises survivors on their options, including whether a civil claim is the right route at all, and moves only when instructed. Book a confidential consultation.
Results
More than $500 million recovered across the firm’s practice areas since 2003. Claims are taken on contingency, so there are no fees up front and none at all unless the claim succeeds. Cost should not be the reason a survivor does not find out where they stand.
Relationships
You deal with the same lawyer throughout, which means not starting the account again with someone new. The firm serves clients in nine languages and arranges interpreters where it does not speak yours.
Recovery
The outcome should fund what recovery needs: counselling, treatment, and the earnings or education the assault cost. Compensation does not undo what happened. It does pay for the part of the aftermath that money can reach.
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Common Questions About Sexual Assault Claims
Is there a time limit on a civil sexual assault claim in Ontario?
No. Ontario removed the limitation period for civil claims based on sexual assault, so there is no deadline and no cutoff, however long ago it happened. Practical questions can still arise about evidence and about whether a defendant or institution can be located, and those are worth discussing early. The decision about timing, though, is yours.
Do I have to go to the police to bring a civil claim?
No. A civil claim is separate from the criminal process and doesn’t depend on it. You can bring one without reporting, alongside a report, or after a prosecution that ended without a conviction, because the civil standard of proof is the balance of probabilities rather than beyond a reasonable doubt.
Will a civil claim become public?
Court proceedings are generally public, though protections exist and can be sought, and the great majority of civil claims resolve without a trial. This is a fair question to ask at the first meeting, before anything is filed, so you can weigh it. If privacy outweighs what a claim would recover, choosing not to proceed is a legitimate answer.
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