MoJ refuses to extend compensation scheme for child abuse survivors despite IICSA’s 2023 recommendations.
Victims of child sexual abuse have been left disappointed after the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) ruled out expanding access to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (CICS), despite a major recommendation from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).
The IICSA’s 2023 final report recommended significant changes to the CICS, including extending the limitation period for personal injury claims from two to seven years for survivors of child sexual abuse. However, in a response issued last week, Justice Minister Alex Davies-Jones announced that the government would not adopt these proposals, leaving many survivors and their advocates disheartened.
The compensation scheme, which is intended to provide financial redress for victims of violent crime, currently imposes strict time limits for claims. Under the existing framework, victims must lodge their claims within two years of the incident. For survivors of child sexual abuse, this often proves an insurmountable hurdle, as many struggle with the trauma of their experiences and may only come to terms with what happened years later.
Embed from Getty ImagesIn a statement, Davies-Jones explained that while the government acknowledged the inquiry’s recommendations, it had opted not to proceed with changes to the CICS. She defended the current scheme’s “core principle of universality,” which ensures all victims of violent crime, regardless of the nature of their trauma, can access the scheme. Expanding the scheme to favour victims of child sexual abuse, she argued, could create a system that is less fair to victims of other crimes.
However, this stance has sparked outrage from victim advocates and legal experts, who argue that the government is failing to meet the specific needs of survivors of child sexual abuse. Professor Alexis Jay, the chair of IICSA, had made clear that the current compensation system was not designed with abuse survivors in mind. In her report, she pointed out that the strict limitation period often means that claimants are deemed “too late” to apply for compensation and must request special permission from the court to proceed. This added burden, Jay argued, is “unnecessary” and can discourage victims from seeking redress.
Kim Harrison, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), voiced strong criticism of the government’s decision. A specialist child abuse lawyer who represented survivors during the inquiry, Harrison stated that the government had effectively dismissed the IICSA’s recommendations without sufficient consideration. “The government has effectively dumped the recommendations on its ‘too hard’ pile, brushing away victims and survivors as an inconvenience,” she said.
Harrison emphasised that the IICSA was the most comprehensive inquiry of its kind in the UK, gathering extensive evidence and thousands of testimonies from survivors of childhood sexual abuse. The recommendations, she argued, were based on this wealth of evidence and represented a long-awaited effort to better support survivors in their pursuit of justice.
The government’s decision not to amend the CICS is seen as part of a broader trend of inaction when it comes to addressing the needs of child abuse survivors. Despite repeated calls for reform, many feel that the system remains stacked against those seeking justice for crimes that were committed against them in their childhood years.
As the debate over child sexual abuse compensation continues, survivors and their advocates are left grappling with the government’s refusal to engage with the reality of their struggles. For now, it seems the fight for meaningful change in the compensation process will have to continue, despite the significant challenges that lie ahead.
