This web site looks at the history and nature of institutional child abuse. It shows us how survivors are naming the abuse and restoring dignity in their lives and communities. For the purpose of this web site, institutional child abuse means the abuse forced upon a child living in an institution in Canada.

Updated June 11, 2008
Prime Minister Harper offers full apology on behalf of Canadians for the Indian Residential Schools system

For more than a century, Indian Residential Schools separated over 150,000 Aboriginal children from their families and communities. In the 1870’s, the federal government, partly in order to meet its obligation to educate Aboriginal children, began to play a role in the development and administration of these schools. Two primary objectives of the Residential Schools system were to remove and isolate children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them into the dominant culture. Read More »

To begin, click on one of the main sections above, such as Options for Dealing with Abuse or Understanding Institutional Child Abuse.

If you feel any anxiety or unpleasantness while reading the content of this site, please contact the Indian Residential Schools Survivors Society. You may also read the Resources section of this web site to find organizations that may help you through this difficult healing process.

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This web site is made possible with funding from the United Way of the Lower Mainland, the Law Commission of Canada and the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General.