Can I Claim Child Abuse Compensation?

Choose A Section

What Is Childhood Sexual Abuse?
Accessing Support For Sexual Abuse
Am I Eligible For Child Abuse Compensation?
How Much Child Abuse Compensation Could I Get?
Working With No Win No Fee Solicitors For Historic Abuse Claims
Discover More About Claiming Child Abuse Compensation

What Is Childhood Sexual Abuse?

Importantly, there is no standard definition of child sexual abuse and each UK nation classifies it differently. Recognised abuse indicators may include:

Enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities.
Physical contact, including assault by penetration, such as rape or oral sex.
Non-penetrative acts including masturbation, rubbing and touching outside of clothing or kissing.
Non-contact activities involving children, such as looking at, or participating in the production of sexual images.
Watching sexual activities with or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.
Grooming a child in preparation for abuse (including via the internet).

There are several pieces of legislation that provide greater clarity on child sexual abuse. The Indecency with Children Act 1960 (which applies to crimes committed before May 2004) and the Sexual Offences Act 1956 (which also applies to crimes before this date) help with this.

As well as this, the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (sections 9 – 15) details the law as it applies to child sex offences after May 2004.

You could be able to claim compensation for sexual abuse and, in this article, we discuss what you would need to do this.

Child Abuse Statistics

The Office for National Statistics reviewed in their child abuse report for England and Wales for the year ending March 2019 some of the following key points:

1 in 5 adults aged between 18 to 74 years had suffered at least one form of either emotional, physical, or sexual abuse or had witnessed domestic abuse or violence prior to being 16. This affected approximately 8.5 million people.
49,570 children in England and 4,810 children in Wales were cared for by a local authority due to the risk of neglect or abuse by March 2019.
A survey from Childline stated that 19,847 counselling sessions to children in the UK raised abuse as the primary concern.
This resulted in 1 in 20 of the sessions requiring a referral to an external agency.
52% of adults who had experienced some form of abuse prior to being 16 went on to experience domestic abuse in later life.

Accessing Support For Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse can leave survivors with an array of problems as they try to get on with life. The impact on children can be devastating. It’s essential to access the right support to begin recovery so that survivors can put the ordeal behind them.

With this in mind, there are several agencies, charities and organisations that aim to offer this support to child sexual abuse victims, their families and partners:

The Survivors Trust – the umbrella agency for 124 agencies in the UK offering help and support after rape or sexual assault.
Rape Crisis – a network of independent rape crisis centres offering support and contact details local to survivors.
Survivors UK – they work with boys, men and non-binary people living with the experience of sexual violence.
Refuge – a charity that aims to help people who live in fear of violence or abuse.
Victim Support – an independent charity dedicated to supporting people affected by crime or traumatic experiences.

These agencies can help people come to terms with what happened to them. They offer valuable support to sexual abuse survivors as they rebuild their lives. It can also be a starting point for a decision to seek child abuse compensation.

Am I Eligible For Child Abuse Compensation?

At Sexual Abuse Compensation Advice, we understand that you may have anxieties about proving either a current or historical abuse claim. These issues can be challenging to confront and you may have concerns about eligibility.

Direct Claims and CICA awards

There are two main ways in which to approach a child abuse compensation claim. The first can be a direct claim against the individual.

If your abuser is identified and has the necessary financial means to compensate you, it can be worth suing them directly. Or you can seek damages from the institution they worked for such as a school, university or church if that employer’s negligence caused your suffering.

For example, if an employer failed to properly ensure the necessary background checks for a member of staff were made before they were employed, which permitted the opportunity that led to your abuse, your claim could be made against the employer.

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA)

The second manner in which you could approach a child abuse compensation claim is through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA)

Looking at claims on a case by case basis, this scheme aims to provide some form of compensation to the victims of serious crimes when no other option is available. Amounts can be awarded without a suspect, an arrest or a prosecution.

Therefore, it can be appropriate for the CICA to make an award. This can be for either current or historical sexual abuse claims. The CICA does have quite strict criteria for eligibility.

Firstly, claims should ideally be made within 2 years of the incident.
If a claim is made outside of this limitation period, evidence may be needed to explain why it was not reported when it occurred. This could be due to factors such as being a minor at the time or being too physically or emotionally traumatised by the event.
Any unspent criminal convictions can undermine your eligibility.
Ultimately, a Claims Officer will decide on a ‘balance of probabilities’ if you receive an award.
In addition to this, you must have reported the crime and be willing to co-operate with the police in their investigations.

The CICA refer to their own tariff of award amounts as they relate to specific injuries or abuse scenarios. A medical examination or your GP notes can provide details to substantiate your claim.

Litigation Friends

A litigation friend can claim on behalf of a minor or person who lacks the mental capacity to claim. A litigation friend can be (for example) the parent, guardian, solicitor or professional advocate acting in the child’s best interests.

However, a litigation friend can only be used in a direct claim against the perpetrator rather than a claim made through the CICA claim.

A litigation friend would perform all the necessary tasks involved such as:

Making decisions for the child
Explaining the case to them (as best they can)
Finding out the child’s wishes and feelings
Taking advice and giving instruction to the solicitor
Paying any costs that the Court may order

A parent or guardian could claim on behalf of a child for a claim through the CICA. If you have the authority to act on behalf of a person who lacks the mental capacity to claim, you could claim on their behalf through the CICA.

How Much Child Abuse Compensation Could I Get?

The table below offers a brief excerpt of the CICA tariff. Injuries that correlate with those listed could receive the same compensation. (Please note that the figures for direct claims against the perpetrator would attract different values. Contact our advisors if you’d like to know more.)

Injury type	Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) tariff	notes
sexual assault where victim is any age	£1,000	'minor' non-penetrative or sexual act(s) of a physical nature over clothing (B1)
sexual assault where victim is any age	£2,000	'serious' non-penetrative or sexual act(s) of a physical nature over clothing (B3)
sexual assault where victim is any age	£3,300	severe non-penetrative or oral-genital act(s) of a non-penile nature (B4)
sexual assault where victim is any age	£11,000	Incidents involving non-consensual penile penetration of vagina, anus or mouth (or one or more) by one attacker (B9)
sexual assault where victim is any age	£22,000	Acts of non-consensual penetrating in vagina, anus or mouth (or one or more) that results in internal bodily injuries of a serious nature (B12)
sexual assault where victim is any age	£27,000	Non-consensual penile acts involving the vagina, mouth or anus (or one or more) that caused severe mental illness
sexual assault where victim is a child	£1,000	sexual assault of someone under the age of 18 of a minor, non-penetrative nature above clothing (B1)
sexual assault where victim is a child	£6,600	Non-penile oral or genital act(s) that form a repeated pattern with frequent occurrence over and up to a three-year period. (B7)
sexual assault where victim is a child	£13,500	penile penetration of a non-consensual nature involving one or more of vagina, mouth or anus, during which two or more attackers were involved (B10)
sexual assault where victim is a child	£44,000	Non-consensual penetration with the penis involving vagina, anus or oral assault. One that causes internal bodily injury of an extreme nature with a permanent mental illness. This would need to be disabling in nature and confirmed by psychiatrist. (B15)

Also, other amounts can be considered. As a general rule for CICA claims, special expenses must be:

Reasonable
Caused directly by the criminal injury
Necessary

For example, you may claim for:

Services or products that you are unable to source from somewhere else for free or less cost.
Compensation for certain costs that may relate to personal care or food preparation needs.

You could receive compensation for loss of earnings if you were unable to work after the assault. You must have been unable to work for longer than 28 weeks to be eligible for loss of earnings compensation.

Working With No Win No Fee Solicitors For Historic Abuse Claims

No Win No Fee agreements (or Conditional Fee Agreements) are a way in which you can access professional and instant legal representation without an upfront lawyer’s fee. This means a lawyer with experience in child sexual abuse claims could start work immediately to help you, regardless of your financial situation.

In addition to this, if your claim is not successful, there is no lawyer fee owed to your No Win No Fee criminal injuries lawyer. A successful claim requires a success fee to be paid to the lawyer. However, this is capped by law.

This cap aims to ensure you receive the majority of your award. It’s important to organise and present your evidence correctly at the start of a claim and a No Win No Fee solicitor can help with this.

Chat With Our Team About Making A Child Abuse Compensation Claim

In conclusion, thank you for reading this guide about child abuse compensation. We hope it has clarified how you could begin a claim directly or through the CICA.

Care and confidentiality are at the heart of what our panel of personal injury solicitors do. You do not have to face your child abuse compensation claim alone. Get in touch by:

Calling us on the number at the top of the page
Using our contact us form
Alternatively, you can use the ‘live support’ option for instant free legal advice

Discover More About Claiming Child Abuse Compensation

The resources below offer more information and support while you consider your child abuse compensation claim. As you read them, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

More detailed information on what is defined as child abuse from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children NSPCC.
NHS guidance on spotting the signs of child abuse
The Crown Prosecution Service guidelines on prosecuting cases of child sexual abuse.

You can also check out some more of our other guides below:

The Complete Guide to Sexual Abuse Claims

Choose A Section

Can I Claim For Sexual Abuse?
Receiving Support Through Sexual Abuse Claims
Can Sexual Abuse Victims Get Compensation?
Calculating The Value Of Sexual Abuse Claims
What Are The Advantages Of Filing No Win No Fee Sexual Abuse Claims?
Additional Information On Claiming Compensation For Historical Abuse

Can I Claim For Sexual Abuse?

If someone has sexually abused you, historically or recently, you could potentially claim compensation for any harm. The Crown Prosecution Services (CPS) is an independent body that prosecutes criminal cases in England and Wales. Their definition of child sexual abuse is an adult inciting or forcing a person under the age of 18 to engage in sexual activities. This could be committed by men, women and other children and could include:

Rape
Oral sex
Masturbation
Kissing
Forcing a child to look at sexual images or pornography
Grooming in preparation for abuse
Forcing a child to engage in sexual acts with someone else
Making a child watch pornography

Sexual abuse is different to sexual assault and rape, which are defined by the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Under this Act, rape is any penetrative non-consensual sexual act to the vagina, mouth or anus with a penis. The Act defines sexual assault more broadly as sexual, intentional and non-consensual touching of a person by another.

If you wish to apply to the CICA for compensation, you must have first made a police report to do so. This police report should be made as soon as possible- this is usually immediately after the incident, but your claim may still be considered if exceptional circumstances prevented this.

Contact our advisors today for confidential legal advice to find out more about the sexual abuse claims process.

Official Statistics About Sexual Abuse

The Office for National Statistics collects data on various crimes in England and Wales. This includes child sexual abuse, where the data is gathered in collaboration with the Department for Education, the Home Office, the National Association for People Abuse in Childhood, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), the National Crime Agency and the Welsh Government.

From these statistics, we can see that in the year ending in March 2019, the Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated 3.1 million people aged between 18-74 years old experienced sexual abuse before the age of 16. This includes abuse by child and adult perpetrators.

These statistics also showed that a friend or acquaintance committed 37% of the abuse that occurred. This was the most common occurrence. 30% of occurrences included sexual abuse by a stranger.

Altogether, 73,260 sexual offences against children were reported by the police in England and Wales during this period.

If you would like more information on how we can help in sexual abuse claims, speak with a member of our team today.

Receiving Support Through Sexual Abuse Claims

After being sexually abused, assaulted or raped, it’s possible you could suffer some psychological trauma due to what has happened to you. Various charities work to support victims of sexual abuse with emotional rehabilitation.

Some examples of these organisations include:

Refuge UK – This charity works to support victims of violence and abuse, including sexual abuse. They can provide child support workers, emergency accommodation and culturally-specific services.
Survivors UK – This charity works to raise awareness of sexual abuse happening to boys, men and non-binary people. They also have services to support non-binary people and males aged 13+ who have experienced sexual violence.
Victim Support – An independent charity for victims of crime and traumatic incidents in England and Wales.
The Survivors Trust – An umbrella agency for specialist sexual abuse and rape support services in the UK, working with victims of all ages and genders.
Rape Crisis – A feminist organisation that aims to raise awareness of sexual violence and abuse. They also have Rape Crisis Centres to support victims across England and Wales.

To find out more about the process of making sexual abuse claims, call us now.

Can Sexual Abuse Victims Get Compensation?

If you want to make a personal injury claim against the perpetrator directly, your compensation could potentially consist of general damages and special damages. General damages are the compensation you receive for the pain and suffering caused by the incident. Special damages aim to reimburse you for any specific financial losses.

However, you can only make this type of claim if you know who the perpetrator is and they have the funds to compensate you.

To make a claim in this way, you generally need to start a claim within 3 years of the date of the incident. However, there are a few exceptions to this.

It is important to note here that both adults with diminished mental capacity and children are not able to represent themselves in a claim. A litigation friend can pursue a claim on their behalf. This can be any responsible adult appointed by the court to make decisions for the claimant.

For children, a claim can be started at any time until they turn 18. Once they turn 18, they then have 3 years to start a claim themselves.

For adults with diminished mental capacity, the time limitation is suspended indefinitely and a litigation friend can claim at any point. This is unless they recover their mental faculties, at which point they have 3 years in which to start their claim.

Call us today to learn more about the time limitations that apply to starting sexual abuse claims.

Claiming Through The CICA

Making a claim through the CICA is something you can do if you’re not able to claim directly against the person who abused you. To be eligible to claim through the CICA, you need to have reported the crime to the police. There are also time limitations that apply to making a CICA claim.

You must usually start an application within 2 years of the incident. However, if exceptional circumstances prevented you from doing so, the CICA may still consider a claim made outside of this time period.

If you were a child when the abuse happened, your parents can claim on your behalf provided that the incident is reported to the police. If they don’t, then you have 2 years to make a claim yourself once you’ve reported it to the police once you turn 18.

There are a variety of payments you could apply to claim through the CICA. This could include:

Special expenses
Loss of earnings
Injury payments

To learn more about how sexual abuse claims can be made through the CICA, get in touch with our team of advisors today.

Calculating The Value Of Sexual Abuse Claims

This section looks in more detail about how you could be compensated through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. There is a tariff of injuries in this scheme that are set compensation amounts that you could receive in a CICA claim.

Victim	Type of Offence	Severity	Compensation	Notes
Victim of any age	Sexual Assault	Minor	£1,000	Physical and sexual non-penetrative acts under the clothing.
Victim of any age	Sexual Assault	A pattern of frequent and repetitive abuse	£6,600	Over a period of up to 3 years. This could be by one or more perpetrators.
Victim of any age	Sexual Assault	Severe mental illness	£27,000	Sexual assault resulting in permanently disabling mental illness. This would be confirmed by psychiatric prognosis.
Victim of any age	Non-Consensual Penile Penetration or One or More of Anus, Mouth or Vagina	Moderate mental illness	£22,000	The offence resulted in a permanently disabling mental illness. This would be confirmed by psychiatric prognosis.
Victim is a child or an adult with diminished mental capacity	Sexual Assault	One or more oral genital or non-penile penetrative acts	£8,200	A pattern of frequent and repetitive incidents over a period of 3 years or longer.
Victim is a child or an adult with diminished mental capacity	Sexual Assault	Serious	£3,300	A repetitive pattern of non-penetrative physical and sexual acts under the clothing.
Victim is a child or an adult with diminished mental capacity	Sexual Assault	Two or more oral genital or non-penile penetrative acts	£4,400	Two or more isolated incidents of the listed offence.
Victim is a child or an adult with diminished mental capacity	Non-Consensual Penile Penetration or One or More of Anus, Mouth or Vagina	Pattern of repetitive, frequent incidents	£22,000	There will be serious internal injuries.
Victim is a child or an adult with diminished mental capacity	Non-Consensual Penile Penetration or One or More of Anus, Mouth or Vagina	One incident	£11,000	One incident of this type of offence.
Victim is a child or an adult with diminished mental capacity	Non-Consensual Penile Penetration or One or More of Anus, Mouth or Vagina	Repeated incidents	£22,000	Repeated incidents for 3 years or longer.

Special expenses could also be claimed via the CICA. This is similar to special damages in a personal injury claim in that you can claim back the costs of specific financial losses. This can only include expenses that the court finds to be reasonable, necessary and directly associated with the sexual abuse.

You can only claim special expenses after 28 full weeks of being unable to work, but you can claim for costs starting from the date of the incident.

However, loss of earnings payments are slightly different, as they cannot be backdated. The CICA will only compensate you for the 29th week onwards of being unable to earn, and they will pay it at a Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) rate.

Call the number at the top of this page today to find out more about how these payments could work.

What Are The Advantages Of Filing No Win No Fee Sexual Abuse Claims?

You may be wondering what your options are for funding solicitors work in sexual abuse claims. You should know that the solicitors on our panel offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis.

If you’re offered a No Win No Fee agreement, your solicitor will only take payment in the form of a success fee in the event that your claim succeeds.

If your claim does not succeed, your No Win No Fee solicitor will not receive payment for their services. They also won’t ask you for any upfront or ongoing fees. This could be beneficial if you have already struggled financially as a result of what has happened to you.

Get In Touch To Learn More About Sexual Abuse Claims

Hopefully, after this article, you feel you understand more about how sexual abuse claims work. The solicitors on our panel have years of experience and could help you make a claim today.

To make you more comfortable, it’s also possible to make requests before speaking to a solicitor. For example, you may wish to hire specifically a female solicitor. We want to make sure that you feel as safe and secure as possible when claiming with us.

Ring the number at the top of the page for free legal advice about your case. Our team of advisors could also pass you on to a solicitor from our panel.

Additional Information On Claiming Compensation For Historical Abuse

Thank you for reading our guide about sexual abuse claims. We hope it answered any questions you may have had. For additional information, please see below.

Report a Rape or Sexual Assault – This Government guide explains how you could report a rape or sexual assault.

Preventing Child Sexual Abuse and Keeping Children Safe – The NSPCC’s guide to how to prevent or report child sexual abuse.

Safeguarding Against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in the Aid Sector – A government guide on reducing sexual abuse and exploitation in the aid sector.

You can also check out some more of our other guides below: