How Much Compensation Can You Claim For Sexual Abuse?

By Danielle Knowles. Last Updated 8th May 2024. Welcome to our guide on how to claim for sexual abuse. If you’ve been sexually abused, this can result in a wide range of physical and psychological injuries.

A woman clutching her chest looking distressed while a hand grips her shoulder.

You can make a claim directly against the person who abused you, or an organisation responsible for the abuse. Alternatively, you may be able to claim through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). We will explain later on in this guide the situations in which each of these would be appropriate.

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Choose A Section

  1. Can You Get Compensation For Being Abused?
  2. What Support Is Available For Anyone That Suffers Sexual Abuse?
  3. How To Claim Sexual Abuse Compensation
  4. Calculating A Settlement In A Claim For Sexual Abuse
  5. What Is A No Win No Fee Solicitor And Can They Help Me Claim For Sexual Abuse?
  6. Further Resources About How To Claim For Sexual Abuse

Can You Get Compensation For Being Abused?

In cases of child sexual abuse, there does not necessarily need to be physical contact between the perpetrator and the child. For example, a perpetrator could send a child inappropriate pictures or force a child to perform sexual acts upon themselves.

If, as an adult, you claim for sexual abuse experienced as a child, then this would be known as a claim for historical child abuse.

There are several key pieces of legislation that are relevant in relation to child sexual abuse. They include:

What Do The Statistics Say About Sexual Abuse?

Statistics from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) display some trends with regard to child sexual abuse. These statistics show that sexual abuse victims can be more likely to be female than male. However, that isn’t to say that males cannot be sexual abuse victims.

The figures show that 17.8% of young women aged 18-24 reported having experienced some form of sexual abuse before they reached the age of 18. For young men of the same age range, this number drops to 5.1%.

As mentioned earlier in this article, these reports could be examples of historic sexual abuse.

Claim for sexual abuse statistics graph

What Support Is Available For Anyone That Suffers Sexual Abuse?

As well as wondering things like “do victims of abuse get compensation?” you may also be looking for things like emotional support and guidance. If you are, there are a number of different charities and organisations that could help.

In this section, we have compiled a list of some of them. For example:

How To Claim Sexual Abuse Compensation

Claims for sexual abuse compensation could be made through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). The CICA handle compensation claims from those who sustained physical or mental injuries as the result of a crime of violence in England and Wales. If you meet the eligibility criteria (discussed below), they could award your sexual abuse compensation. Later on, we look at how the CICA awards compensation for successful claims.

However, in certain circumstances, you could claim directly against the perpetrator (if they have the means to award your compensation and you know who they are) or a vicariously liable party (such as your employer, if the incident occurred at work and your employer was either aware that the perpetrator was prone to commit sexual assault or should have reasonably been expected to know if the correct checks had been carried out). These claims could be valued in the same way as a personal injury claim. Generally, this is done using the compensation guidelines published by the Judicial College.

Eligibility

When making a claim for sexual abuse through the CICA, certain eligibility requirements will need to be met. These are:

  • The incident must have taken place in Wales, Scotland, England or another relevant place.
  • You must have been injured in a crime of violence, such as sexual abuse.
  • You must have reported the incident to the police.
  • Your claim must be started within the time limits. We discuss what these are in the section below.

Additionally, you must be able to provide certain evidence to the CICA when claiming with them. These are:

  • Medical evidence of your injuries.
  • Proof that you meet the residency requirements.
  • A police reference number, to prove that the incident was reported.

Any further information the CICA may need regarding the incident, they can liaise with the police for this.

Time Limits

When claiming through the CICA, the general time limit to start a claim for sexual abuse is 2 years from the date of the incident. However, exceptions can be made.

It could be that you were fearful or emotionally affected and felt unable to come forward until years later. You need to supply the CICA with a convincing argument to justify the delay in reporting the incident. Ultimately, it is up to them to decide whether or not the explanation is sufficient.

For incidents involving children, even if the incident is reported to the police immediately, the 2-year time limit will not begin until they turn 18 years old. If the incident is not reported to the police and you report it when you turn 18, you have 2 years to start your claim.

For more information on making a claim for sexual abuse, speak with a member of our team today.

Calculating A Settlement In A Claim For Sexual Abuse

In this section, we have included some example figures from the CICA’s tariff of injuries. Each award is a flat fee. Only a maximum of three injuries from this tariff can be awarded to a victim.

Only the injury with the highest value is awarded at full value. The second and third most valuable injuries can also be compensated, but only at respective rates of 30% and 15%.

HarmDescriptionAmount
Sexual abuse and extra damagesCompensation for loss of earnings, special expenses and other injuries.Up to £500,000
Non-consensual penile penetration of one or more of vagina, anus or mouthWhere serious internal bodily injuries and a disabling mental illness of a permanent and severe nature is caused.£44,000
Where serious internal bodily injuries and a disabling mental illness of a permanent and moderate nature is caused.£33,000
The result is a permanently disabling severe mental illness as confirmed by psychiatric prognosis.£27,000
Where serious internal bodily injuries are caused.£22,000
The result is a permanently disabling moderate mental illness as confirmed by psychiatric prognosis.£22,000
Where two or more attackers are involved.£13,500
One attacker is involved.£11,000
Sexual AssaultA severe mental illness as confirmed by psychiatric prognosis.£27,000
Internal bodily injuries of a serious nature.£22,000

There is a separate tariff for other injuries that occur as a direct result of an instance of sexual abuse. For example, you could receive a payment if sexual abuse has caused you to become pregnant, lose a foetus or contract a sexually transmitted infection (STI). Injuries from this tariff won’t be subject to the multiple injury formula that we’ve mentioned above.

Additionally, you can also be awarded a figure known as special expenses. They can reimburse you for certain losses and expenditures caused by your being subjected to sexual abuse. These costs must be necessary, reasonable and incurred as a direct result of the abuse you experienced.

In order to claim special expenses, you must have lost out on earnings for at least 28 weeks following the incident. Many special expenses can be backdated; however, if you’re claiming for a loss of earnings, this will only be paid to you from week 29 onwards and will be paid at the rate of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP).

You also do not pay any tax on sexual abuse compensation settlements.

Get in touch for more information on claiming through the CICA and how sexually abused victims in the UK can be compensated in general.

What Is A No Win No Fee Solicitor And Can They Help Me Claim For Sexual Abuse?

All of the expert criminal injury lawyers on our panel can offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis. This means they could also work with you in this way as well, should you have a valid claim for sexual abuse.

An arrangement such as this means that you don’t need to pay your solicitor anything if your claim fails. There is also nothing to pay them in order for them to start work on your claim.

If your claim is successful, then your solicitor is paid via a small and legally-capped percentage taken from your settlement. You will be made aware of this in advance.

Fund legal representation in this way can help to reduce the financial risk to yourself. This is because you won’t have to pay large legal fees to a solicitor with no guarantee of compensation to offset this.

Call Us To Begin A Claim For Sexual Abuse

To see if you could make a No Win No Fee claim, get in touch with us today. Our advisors are standing by and ready to lend a sympathetic and helpful ear about making a claim for sexual abuse.

All initial advice is free of charge. You can:

  • Call us on the number at the top of the page
  • Contact us through our website
  • Use the live chat window in the corner

Further Resources About How To Claim For Sexual Abuse

  1. This guide on Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will let you know whether you’re eligible and how much you could receive.
  2. Help after rape and sexual assault – an NHS guide.
  3. An NHS self-help guide for survivors of rape and sexual assault.

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

Thank you for reading our guide on how to claim for sexual abuse.