Recovery Speaking Initiative
You can recover.
Recovery Speaking Initiative walks alongside male survivors of clergy and institutional sexual abuse, from the first phone call to the other side of healing.
I need help
For male survivors ready to take a first step. You do not have to have it figured out.
Someone I love needs help
For family and friends who do not know where to turn. You do not need to speak for them.
I want to help
For lawyers, clinicians, partners and supporters who want to be part of this work.
What makes RSI different
Our focus is healing, not retribution.
Most organizations working on sexual abuse are focused on holding institutions accountable. While that work is important, it is not our purpose.
RSI is led by survivors and serves survivors. If accountability is part of someone’s path, we walk alongside them through it. But the person in front of us is why we exist, and the goal is always the same. Whatever it takes to help them move from victim to survivor.
Our peer supporters have lived it. They know what it feels like to carry shame, to struggle with trust, to wonder if healing is even possible. That shared experience creates a kind of connection and hope that professional support alone cannot offer.
We are a hub, not the whole journey. We connect survivors to peer support, trauma counselling, addiction recovery, legal advocacy and family resources. We meet you where you are and are ready to walk with you through the hard times.
Once you choose hope, anything is possible.
Bob McCabe
Founder, Recovery Speaking Initiative. Survivor, in recovery for more than a decade.
The need
Carried in silence, usually for decades.
1 in 6
Canadian men experience sexual abuse before age 18.
5–6%
of incidents are ever reported to police.
60%
of male survivors say the abuse began between ages 2 and 12.
36%
growth in police-reported sexual assaults on men since 2017.
