Payouts for child sex abuse victims
A NATIONAL compensation scheme for child sex victims will be introduced in England, Home Secretary Suella Braverman has announced.
The move, which Ms Braverman said would help deliver “some finality” to victims, comes months after a seven-year inquiry into institutional failings in England and Wales recommended the creation of a redress scheme for survivors.
The Independent Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse report, published last October, called for a fixed-term compensation scheme for victims “let down by institutions in the past”.
Ms Braverman said that the Government is looking at how to implement other recommendations made by the inquiry.
She said yesterday as she visited Barnardo’s children’s charity in East London: “This is a real problem of enormous scale and devastating consequences. And today’s response to that inquiry report must mark a step change for victims and survivors.
“That’s why I’m announcing a new redress scheme to ensure victims and survivors can secure some finality, some acknowledgment of what they have been through and hopefully some closure.”
The £187million inquiry, set up in 2015 by then-Prime Minister Theresa May, looked at 15 areas scrutinising institutional responses to child sexual abuse – including investigations into allegations at Westminster and churches. Over 7,000 victims took part.
The IICSA, in making the recommendation, said applicants to the scheme should have experienced abuse “where there is a clear connection to state or non-state institutions”. In making the case for a redress scheme, the inquiry said there were issues with current civil justice and criminal compensation schemes which often “do not provide the accountability and reparation sought by victims and survivors of child sexual abuse”.
Labour MP Sarah Champion noted that years had elapsed since the inquiry was ordered, adding: “So standing here and hearing the Home Secretary saying she is accepting the need to act isn’t the same as acting.
“She said victims will have visibility in the work, that there will be consultation, that things will be monitored. Where is the funding? Where is the actual getting on with the recommendations?”
● Judges in rape cases will be asked to help counter jurors’ misconceptions about sexual harm, also known as “rape myths”, that currently could help sexual predators avoid jail.
Myths include the belief that a rape will always be reported promptly and that victims will be visibly distraught when describing what happened.
The Law Commission’s proposals seek to address the way that evidence, such as a complainant’s counselling records or sexual history, can be used to undermine their credibility.