"On my honour, I promise to do my best…"
This is the familiar beginning of the Scout's Canada promise. Tens of thousands of children have recited this pledge in front of their scout leaders - leaders who were bound by that same pledge.
Unfortunately, some scout leaders and the organization that facilitated scouting activities failed to live up to that promise. Many cases of historic institutional sexual abuse at Scouts Canada have come to light over the past three decades as former scouts have come forward to reveal what happened to them when they were younger.
As disturbing as it has been to realize the extent of abuse within some scouting troops, there is some good news for the former scouts who are now thinking about this abuse and how to find a sense of closure from it. In this blog post, I outline how sexual abuse cases in Scouts Canada began to come to light, explain how the organization responded, and provide some options for survivors who are dealing with these horrific memories.
Conditions Ripe for Abuse.
Scouting provides young people with the opportunity to learn important skills and take part in fantastic experiences - particularly in the great outdoors. Scout leaders - volunteers from the community - play an integral part in these activities as teachers, guides, and role models for good behaviour and values.
But, like so many situations where an adult is put in a position of authority over a group of vulnerable children, sexual predators can abuse this trust and create situations where they can take advantage of them. Although you might think that participation in camp outs and sleepaway camps would be the likely site for much of this abuse, I've had clients who have suffered sexual violence during weekly troop meetings, jamborees, and other boy scout events. Abuse can happen anywhere and to anyone.
While the idea that sexual abuse may have been taking place within Scouts was acknowledged earlier, including by some scouting organizations themselves, the public became aware of the extent of the harm being done in 1991 when the Washington Times revealed the results of two-year-long investigation of the Boy Scouts of America in a major five-part report. It later formed the basis of journalist Patrick Boyle's book Scout's Honour.
Scouts Canada is a distinct organization from the Boy Scouts of America. Nevertheless, when the Washington Times' stories publicized the extent of abuse within scouting there, Canadians grew concerned that something similar may have occurred here. In response, Scouts Canada became "one of the first youth-serving organizations in Canada to introduce Police Records Checks for volunteers in 1997," and implemented comprehensive safety policies and procedures.
Nevertheless, Scouts Canada was not immune to sexual abuse cases. For example, in 2023, former Scouts Canada employee John Rietveld was sentenced to four years in jail for charges relating to sexual assaults and sexual interference with someone under the age of 16 for incidents which occurred between July 1, 1978 and March 31, 2006. Rietveld, who worked as the youth organization's national executive director of communications between 1987 and 1998, was actually quoted in numerous newspaper articles in the 1990s about Scouts Canada's efforts to prevent child abuse.
Investigative Reports and a Blanket Apology.
Much like the Washington Times' reports on the Boy Scouts of America before it, CBC's investigative journalism program The Fifth Estate broke the full extent of Scouts Canada's historic sexual abuse problem in public consciousness.
In the program's 2011's documentary "Scout's Honour," reporters revealed that Scouts Canada has "signed out-of-court confidentiality agreements with more than a dozen child sex-abuse victims in recent years," and that it "meticulously recorded the names of pedophiles discovered in its ranks for decades in a secretive system dubbed the 'confidential list.'"
A 2012 follow-up, "The Lost Boys," revealed that, contrary to what Scout's Canada chief commissioner Steve Kent said months earlier, not all information on cases of potential sexual abuse discovered by the organization had been reported to the police.
Following the CBC's first report, Scouts Canada issued a blanket apology "to all former Scouts who suffered harm at the hands of those who abused the trust that they had gained as volunteers in our organization." The organization also retained a third-party auditor to review its historic records.
If You're a Survivor of Abuse at Scouts.
Whenever a new story of historic abuse at Scouts Canada hits the news, I often receive inquiries from survivors who were either triggered by the news or who were already contemplating how they can seek a sense of closure or justice being done.
There is no "right way" to do things when you're a survivor of sexual abuse. There are only ways that are right for you. This means carefully reflecting on what you need to work through and process your trauma. We believe the survivor must always be in control over the direction and pace of their path towards healing.
For some people, seeking out counselling or therapy can be very helpful and enough in itself. For others, finding a way to hold your abuser and any person or institution who facilitated this abuse to account for their actions or negligent inaction is an essential component of regaining a sense of control over your life.
In Canada, there is no statute of limitation for sexual abuse and assaults in criminal matters and in most provinces, there are no limitations for civil matters. If a limitation does exist, there are possible ways to overcome those issues.
While criminal charges must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to achieve a conviction, a civil claim must only be proven on the balance of probabilities. This means a judge and/or jury would assess the evidence and decide whether the statements made in your claim and the resulting damages are more likely to have happened than not happened.
Whether you ultimately choose to pursue a civil lawsuit, criminal charges, or other paths forward available to you, the sexual abuse lawyers at Jellinek Ellis Gluckstein are here to help you understand your rights and options.
As a firm, we operate a trauma-informed practice that only represents survivors. You can trust us to treat you with the compassion, empathy, and understanding you need at this crucial time. When you contact us for a free, no obligation initial consultation, you will see from the very beginning that our primary concern is your well-being. Whether you choose to proceed with legal action, take more time to consider which path to take, or opt to go no further, we will always support your decisions and offer to help in any way we can.
For many children, scouting is a wonderful activity that builds self-esteem while teaching important skills and values. If a scout leader's actions took away that possibility and made your time at scouts a traumatic and damaging experience, you should know you are not alone. Contact us today to learn more about how you can take action as you heal from the harm that has been done to you.