You may be wondering, ‘What are child sexual abuse compensation claims, and can I make one?’. Within this guide, we will discuss what exactly a child sexual assault claim is, and when you could be eligible to make one through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).
Additionally, within this guide, we will discuss the time limits that must be adhered to for child sexual abuse claims being made through the CICA. We will also set out the evidence that is needed to support criminal injury claims being made through the CICA.
Furthermore, this guide will look at the tariff of injuries outlined in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 which contains fixed amounts. The CICA administers this Scheme and use it to determine what compensation you’re owed.
We will also look at how one of the No Win No Fee solicitors on our panel could assist you with making a claim.
Read on to learn more about child sexual abuse claims and how a solicitor could support your case. Additionally, you could contact our advisors, who can provide you with free advice and a case assessment if you experienced sexual abuse as a child.
Our advisors can be reached via the following methods:
- Completing our ‘Contact Us’ page for a callback.
- Using the live chat pop-up.
- Calling the phone number listed above.
Choose A Section
- What Are Child Sexual Abuse Compensation Claims?
- Is There A Time Limit To Claim Compensation For Child Sexual Abuse?
- What Do I Need To Claim Through The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority?
- How Much Compensation Could I Claim From The CICA?
- How Long Can Sexual Abuse Compensation Claims Take?
- Can I Claim Criminal Injuries Compensation Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor?
- More Resources About Child Sexual Abuse Compensation Claims
What Are Child Sexual Abuse Compensation Claims?
The charity Barnardo’s defines child sexual abuse as persuading or forcing a child, or a young person aged under 18, to take part in sexual activities.
This could happen with or without the victim being aware. Child sexual abuse is often traumatic and can cause severe long-term effects, either physical or emotional.
It may be possible to pursue your claim against the perpetrator directly or direct it towards a vicariously liable party. However, if these options are not viable, you could claim through the CICA which is intended as a last resort. The CICA are a government agency that can award compensation to those who have been criminally injured in Great Britain.
You could make a child sexual assault claim on behalf of someone else who is currently still a minor, or for abuse you suffered as a child. However, certain eligibility criteria will need to be met, which are:
- The incident must have taken place in Great Britain (England, Wales or Scotland). Alternatively, it must have taken place in another relevant place such as a ship registered in once of these countries.
- The incident must have been reported to the police.
- You must have been injured in a crime of violence as defined by the Scheme 2012. Sexual abuse is one of the incidents that the Scheme lists as a crime of violence.
- The claim must be started within the correct time limit. We will discuss what these are in a later section.
If you require any further information regarding ‘What are child sexual abuse compensation claims?’, you can contact a member of our advisory team. They could also inform you whether you have a valid claim, and may connect you with a solicitor on our panel.
Does The ‘Same Roof’ Rule Impact My Compensation Claim?
The CICA also handles compensation claims for historic sexual abuse. This is also often called ‘non-recent abuse‘ and refers to when an adult was abused as a child or young person under the age of 18, as per the NSPCC.
Due to the ‘same roof rule‘, victims of sexual violence could not claim compensation between the period of August 1964 to September 1979 if the perpetrator was a family member they were living with.
This rule was removed from the Scheme in 2019, and allowed applications to be made by those affected by the ‘same roof rule’ who had a previous application refused or had not previously applied for compensation. The deadline to make this claim was 13th June 2021, however you may still be able to make your claim if you were affected by the ‘same roof rule’, provided that you can demonstrate exceptional circumstances prevented you from starting your claim before this date.
With the removal of this rule from the Scheme, it means you could still make a claim through the CICA if you were sexually abused by a family member you lived with at the time of the incident.
To learn more about historical sexual abuse claims involving children, you can contact our advisors. They can also offer you free advice for your particular case.
Is There A Time Limit To Claim Compensation For Child Sexual Abuse?
Generally, criminal injury claims being made through the CICA will need to be started within 2 years of the incident taking place. However, if you can prove that you were unable to make your claim within this time frame due to exceptional circumstances, you could make your claim after two years has passed.
For child sexual abuse claims, this time limit may differ as follows:
- If the incident was reported to the police before you turned 18, you will have 2 years from the date of your 18th birthday to begin the claiming process.
- If the incident was reported to the police on or after your 18th birthday, you will have 2 years from when you first reported the incident to the police to submit your claim.
Typically, you are expected to make this incident report right away, so you may also need to provide evidence of how exceptional circumstances resulted in you reporting it years later.
To discuss the time limit for a CICA claim and the exceptions that could affect it, you can contact our advisors. They can also help you if you are still wondering what child sexual abuse compensation claims are and how long you have to start one.
What Do I Need To Claim For Through The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority?
If you are claiming through the CICA as a child sexual abuse survivor, or on behalf of a child, you will need to provide the following:
- Evidence that you meet the residency requirements for a claim.
- A crime reference number. The police should provide this reference when you report the abuse.
- Medical evidence that shows the injuries suffered can be compensated for under the Scheme. You can request a copy of a GP health record or other medical records from a healthcare provider. A psychiatrist’s report could show the crime’s impact on your mental health.
The CICA will gather any additional evidence they may need by working with the police.
Please let us know if you have any further questions about what is required for a child abuse compensation claim.
Can I Claim If I Don’t Have My Police Crime Number?
The CICA will require your crime reference number in order for your child sexual abuse claim to be considered. Not providing a crime reference may mean that you cannot claim compensation through the CICA for the effects of the sexual abuse.
If you have misplaced your crime number, you can contact the police to get it from them. This is also the case if a reference number was not provided to you when you reported the child sexual abuse.
If you need support in gathering evidence you need to claim compensation for sexual abuse suffered as a child, please get in touch.
How Much Compensation Could I Claim From The CICA?
You may also be wondering, ‘What are child sexual abuse compensation claims and how much compensation could be awarded if my case succeeds?’.
If you make a successful claim through the CICA for being sexually abused as a child, you will receive compensation for the criminal injuries you suffered. This includes both physical injuries and mental trauma.
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 provides a fixed tariff that the CICA uses to determine payouts. This tariff includes many types of physical injury and mental health conditions. It also features payments specifically for the effects of criminal sexual activities committed against a child.
Claimants will receive a set amount for an injury inflicted during a child abuse incident, decided on factors like the:
- Extent of the injury.
- Level of physical and emotional harm caused by being sexually abused.
- Presence of permanent complications.
Additionally, a claim can be made for up to three injuries. Under the multiple injury formula, the injury with the highest value receives 100% of the figure shown in the CICA Scheme’s tariff.
30% of the tariff amount will be awarded for the second highest value injury or one of equal value. For the third-highest valued injury, 15% of the tariff figure will be given.
Compensation could be awarded under a different tariff that is not subjected to this formula if being sexually abused caused a pregnancy, the loss of a foetus or sexually transmitted infections to be contracted.
CICA Compensation Table
We have collated examples of CICA payouts using the fixed tariff found in the CICA Scheme, which you can see in the table below. However, the top entry in the table does not feature in the Scheme.
| DESCRIPTION | SEVERITY | TARIFF | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Child Sexual Abuse and other expenses | Severe | Up to £500,000 | Compensation can be awarded to address up to three injuries, in addition to a special expenses payment such as necessary medical costs, and a loss of earnings payment. |
| Sexual Offence (The victim is under the age of 18) | Non-Consensual Penile Penetration Of The Mouth, Anus and/or Vagina | £44,000 | The crime results in serious internal bodily injury and a severe, permanent and disabling mental illness. |
| £33,000 | Serious internal bodily injury where a psychiatric prognosis confirms moderate, permanent and disabling mental illness. | ||
| £27,000 | Severe mental illness that is permanent and disabling results from the crime. | ||
| £22,000 | Repeated incidents over a period of three years or more. | ||
| £13,500 | One incident including multiple attackers. | ||
| Sexual Assault - Non-Penile Penetrative and/ or Oral Genital Act(s). | £27,000 | The result is a permanently disabling mental illness which a psychiatric prognosis identifies as severe. | |
| £22,000 | Resulting in serious internal bodily injuries. |
Other Forms Of Compensation For Child Sexual Abuse Claims
Following a successful sexual abuse claim made through the CICA, you may also be awarded special expenses if you meet the eligibility criteria to receive such a payment. Examples of special expenses include:
- Costs arising from treatment for the injury, such as therapy.
- Equipment needed to help cope with your injuries, such as a wheelchair.
- Physical aids that were damaged when the crime took place, such as your glasses.
You could also receive a loss of earnings payment if you were unable to work as a direct result of a criminal injury. However, certain criteria need to be met in order for you to qualify for this payment.
You can learn more about your right to claim criminal injury compensation as a sexual abuse survivor by speaking to our advisors today. They can also provide further guidance on loss of earnings and special expenses payments.
How Long Can Sexual Abuse Compensation Claims Take?
The time it takes the CICA to fully assess an application can depend. However, they generally aim to assess most applications within 12 months.
More complex cases could take longer to resolve. This is so the CICA can ensure that the compensation payment offered reflects the severity of the criminal injuries suffered and their long-term impacts.
If you are still wondering ‘What are child sexual abuse compensation claims and how long could they take to resolve?’, you can contact our advisors. They can also provide you with free advice for making your claim through the CICA if you have been sexually abused as a child.
Can I Claim Criminal Injuries Compensation Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor?
Now that we have looked at child sexual abuse compensation claims made through the CICA, you may wish to start your own claim. If you contact our advisors, they may connect you with one of the child sexual abuse solicitors on our panel. If the agree to take on your case, they may offer you a type of No Win No Fee contract known as a Conditional Fee Agreement.
Under this type of agreement, you generally won’t be expected to pay you solicitor for their services either upfront or during the claiming process. You also won’t be required to pay them for their work if your claim does not succeed.
If the claim does succeed, the solicitor working on your case will take a success fee from your compensation as a percentage. There is a legal cap in place for the percentage that this fee can be, meaning that the majority of the compensation will stay with you.
Contact Our Team
If you have any questions about claiming for the effects of being sexually abused, you can contact our advisors. Our 24/7 consultation service is free to use. An advisor can help you learn if you have a valid child sexual abuse compensation claim, and could connect you with a solicitor from our panel if you’re eligible.
To reach our team, you can:
- Contact us through our website.
- Chat with an advisor through the live chat pop-up.
- Call the number at the top of this page.
More Resources About Child Sexual Abuse Compensation Claims
Some additional guides by us regarding sexual assault claims:
- We explain how to get help from sexual abuse claims solicitors best suited to help you seek compensation.
- We offer advice for parent sexual abuse claims and how our panel’s solicitors can help.
- A complete guide to sexual abuse claims and how to claim through the CICA.
Additional resources and information:
- Childline provides information and advice for abuse victims.
- Information on child abuse from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC).
- Support from The National Association for People Abused in Childhood, including their free and confidential helpline.
If you are still wondering, ‘What are child sexual abuse compensation claims?’, you can contact a member of our advisory team.
