Privacy is often, but not always, a concern to plaintiffs in
civil sexual assault cases. This article will discuss keeping the
plaintiff's identity confidential as well as production of
confidential records. The law treats sexual assault
survivors' privacy very differently in criminal and civil
cases.
In criminal cases involving sexual assault (particularly
historical cases), Crown Attorneys usually seek and obtain
publication bans preventing everyone from publishing any
information which would identify the complainant. In civil cases,
plaintiffs sometimes wish to keep their identity confidential and
proceed using a pseudonym. It is up to the plaintiff to decide if
they want to proceed anonymously. In my experience generally
defendants do not object to this procedure, particularly
institutional defendants such as churches, school boards,
children's aid societies, etc. However, if the issue is
contested, ultimately the court will decide whether the
plaintiff can
