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ARTICLE · 12 JUNE 2024

Young Age Impacts Credibility And Reliability Assessments In Historical Sexual Abuse Claims

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When assessing a witness' credibility and reliability in a historical claim, consideration must be given to a witness' age at the time of the events and to the passage of time since then.

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Lauren L. Malatesta
Lauren L. Malatesta
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When assessing a witness' credibility and reliability in a historical claim, consideration must be given to a witness' age at the time of the events and to the passage of time since then.

There is no statutory limitation period in Ontario applicable to civil claims arising from or relating to sexual abuse. A victim may claim against a perpetrator or institution for historical sexual abuse.

In these historical claims, adult witnesses are often asked to recall and give evidence about sexual abuse they experienced as children. This raises the question: should the reliability and credibility of these witnesses be assessed as the adults they are now, or as the children they were when the abuse occurred?

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