It’s Time: Demand an End to NDAs in Childhood Sexual Abuse Cases

Survivors are speaking. The law must catch up.

On June 21, 2025, Texas passed “Trey’s Law”—a groundbreaking piece of legislation that retroactively invalidates nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) in cases of sexual abuse, assault, and trafficking, including those involving children. The bill passed unanimously. Days earlier, Missouri passed a similar law. In Canada, Prince Edward Island has taken the first steps toward limiting NDAs in sexual assault cases.

This isn’t a partisan issue. It’s a human rights issue.

For too long, NDAs have been used as tools of silence—barring survivors from telling their stories, shielding abusers, and allowing institutions to evade accountability. When it comes to childhood sexual abuse, the consequences are lifelong. The pain is generational. The secrecy is deadly.

At The Restitution Project, we believe survivors deserve to speak without fear of legal reprisal. We believe the law should not protect abusers. And we believe that Canada must do more.

That’s why we’re urging supporters to write to their provincial governments—starting in British Columbia.

Below is a sample letter one of our supporters submitted to their MLA and Attorney General. We invite you to use it as a template: personalize it, adapt it, and send it to your own elected officials. Survivors in Canada need what survivors in Texas and Missouri now have: the right to speak, and the legal power to challenge the systems that once silenced them.

This is your call to action.

📬 How to Take Action:

1. Copy the sample letter below.

2. Personalize it with your own name, address, and province.

3. Send it to your provincial Attorney General and your local MLA or MPP.

4. CC your Premier.

5. Let others know what you’ve done by sharing with the hashtag #EndSilenceNDAs.

Sample Letter:

[Your Name] [Your Address] [City, Province, Postal Code] [Date] To the Honorable [Attorney General’s Name], I am writing to urge your government to actively pursue legislation that retroactively ends the use of nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) in cases of childhood sexual abuse and assault. NDAs only protect perpetrators and silence victims. On June 21, 2025, the state of Texas passed Senate Bill B835—Trey’s Law—into law. The legislation invalidates any NDA that prevents someone from discussing sexual abuse, including child sexual abuse, assault, and trafficking. It applies retroactively and allows existing NDAs to remain enforceable only if the court grants a declaratory judgment—a process that can only occur with survivor consent. In this way, the law shifts power from the perpetrator to the survivor. It takes effect on September 1, 2025. On June 10, 2025, Missouri passed similar legislation that voids NDAs in child sexual abuse cases signed after August 28, 2025. It also passed unanimously. Prince Edward Island is the first Canadian province to pass legislation limiting the use of NDAs in sexual assault cases, including childhood cases. Childhood sexual assault causes victims to suffer across their lifetimes. Many are left feeling powerless in a world where institutions have done little to protect them or to address their pain. Some do not survive. I urge you to take meaningful action. Please see The Restitution Project (Vancouver) website for further information: www.therestitutionproject.ca Sincerely, [Your Name] cc. [Your Premier]; [Your MLA or MPP]