In April 2020, Rogerson Law Group commenced proceedings with Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice against Havergal College, Vice Principal Seonaid Davis, and two teenage girls, on behalf of a teenage girl whose identity is protected by the court and is therefore, referred to as Jane Doe. The claim is for damages and compensation in the amount of $38 million. 

Jane Doe suffered extreme, unrelenting bullying from classmates while attending Havergal College. The severity of this bullying from her Havergal classmates was so intense that she attempted to take her own life on two separate occasions. In no way did Havergal College provide a safe environment for Jane Doe.

Widespread bullying problem

Since Jane Doe’s story was made public, more courageous women have come forward to share their truths, some of which were first-hand experiences, others were of them witnessing bullying at the school. We are calling on others to come forward and share their experiences.   

What we have observed from the case of Jane Doe and Grace Rogerson, and other women who have come forward, is that there is ample reason to believe there is widespread, systemic bullying at the private school, and a shameful lack of action on the part of staff and administration to safeguard its students.

While Havergal College says it has ‘policies’, ‘commitments’, and ‘resources’ in place to prevent and address bullying, no action has been taken, at least in these cases, to stop it. The Havergal strategy appears to be to say that the behaviour is not “bullying” and therefore, the bullying strategy does not have to be applied. The college ignores and excuses violent and bullying behaviour of children from very wealthy and influential families, even to the point of making conditions unsafe for other children.

This is a common thread.

See Andrew Rogerson and Grace Rogerson v. Havergal College et al. for more information about how Havergal College addresses bullying at the school.