Today (5 February 2025) the Ministry of Justice has announced new reforms to support victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. These include:
- Axing the three-year limit for compensation claims.
- Shifting the burden of proof from survivors to defendants.
- Amending the Law of the Apologies to encourage employers to apologise to people wronged by their employees.
These measures come in response to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) and aim to make it easier for victims and survivors of Child Sexual Abuse to receive an apology and pursue claims in the civil court.
The announcement follows previous commitments from the Home Secretary that two of the other IICSA recommendations, namely mandatory reporting and a single set of core data, will be implemented.
Amelia Handy, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Rape Crisis England & Wales says
Many survivors of child sexual abuse don’t feel able to tell someone what happened to them until later in life and are often dealing with the trauma of their experiences way into adulthood, so imposed deadlines on receiving compensation are unrealistic and punitive. The axing of the three-year limit is a very positive and welcomed step which will enable survivors to know they can come forward when they are ready to do so.
There has been a string of recent commitments from the Government into tackling child rape and sexual abuse and it’s very encouraging to see measures made to improve the experiences of victims and survivors.
However, we are yet to see any long-term commitment from the Government to increase funding for the specialist sexual violence services that support survivors. Without meaningful and sustainable funding, more services will be forced to decrease their service provision, in the face of ever-increasing demand.