Lawyers for victims of child sexual abuse have expressed disappointment at the government’s decision not to improve access to redress options.
The final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) recommended in 2023 that the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme be amended to remove obstacles to making a claim. In particular, the inquiry chair Professor Alexis Jay called for an extension to limitation period for personal injury claims brought by victims of child sexual abuse, from two years to seven.
Earlier this year, the government announced the abolition of the three-year limited for civil claims. However ministers have opted against a similar approach for the compensation scheme, which is funded by the Ministry of Justice.
In a response to the final report last week, justice minister Alex Davies-Jones acknowledged the calls for change but said the government had decided not to take forward the inquiry recommendations on the CIC scheme.
‘A core principle of the scheme is its universality,’ she said. ‘It ensures all victims can equally access the scheme, regardless of the nature of the violent crime they were injured by. I consider this fundamental principle of fairness to be crucial to the scheme’s role. Expanding the scheme’s scope and making changes to its time limits and unspent convictions rule as the inquiry recommends would undermine this principle given that these changes would only apply to victims of child sexual abuse. That could, in my view, be detrimental to other deserving victims of crime.’
In her report, Professor Jay had said that the current compensation scheme for victims was not designed with the needs of survivors of child sexual abuse in mind. Jay said: ‘The starting point is therefore that most claimants are deemed to be "too late" and must apply to the court to allow them to proceed. Having to justify any delay in bringing their claims adds a further and unnecessary burden to what is already a difficult process.’
She pointed out that while a claims officer can apply discretion, the uncertainty of whether this will happen can put off victims from seeking compensation.
Kim Harrison, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) and a specialist child abuse lawyer who represented survivors in the inquiry, said victims deserve more than the government rejecting the recommendations out of hand.
She added: ‘The government has effectively dumped the recommendations on its "too hard" pile, thereby brushing away victims and survivors as an inconvenience. IICSA was the most comprehensive inquiry this country has ever seen. The recommendations are based on a wealth of evidence and thousands of testimonials from survivors of childhood rape and abuse gathered over the best part of a decade.’
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