Under current laws, survivors of child rape have just three years to sue their abuser from the day they turn 18 despite the trauma being fresh and potentially ongoing.
But changes to the Limitation Act 1980 will see the limit for victims to bring personal injury claims removed and the burden of proof shifted from victims to defendants.
Campaigners have hailed the reforms as a “watershed moment” and a rare piece of good news in an often bleak sector.
The iPaper spoke with Kim Harrison, a lawyer who represents victims and survivors of abuse at Slater and Gordon, for the inside track on the fight to help survivors seek justice.
She revealed how the reforms could help “hundreds and potentially thousands” of survivors to claim compensation for childhood abuse while lessening the “trauma” in doing so.
The campaign to change the time limit for civil claims related to child sexual abuse in England and Wales was inspired by a similar change in Scotland in 2017.
The Scottish law abolished time limits for claiming compensation for non-recent child sexual abuse survivors, allowing survivors to take their claims to court, gaining recognition and compensation.
England and Wales lagged behind, with the Limitation Law stating that victims must bring personal injury claims within three years between the ages of 18 and 21.
However, ministers announced last week that child sexual abuse victims will no longer be bound by the three-year clause as long as the defendant maintains the right to a fair trial.
This means victims and survivors will no longer have to go through the traumatic process of justifying why they did not come forward earlier to get their case heard.
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“This is great news and a watershed moment for survivors being recognised,” said Harrison, who acted for 120 victims and survivors and who was called to give evidence on the time limit.
“Finally, people are listening to what survivors have been saying about why they cannot come forward within three years by their 21st birthday.”
She said that for survivors, standing up in court and explaining their reasons for delaying coming forward means going into detail about “painful and humiliating” experiences.
“Going through that whole process is distressing, retriggering and retraumatising,” Harrison added.
The reforms, which are expected to be part of bills brought before Parliament in the next year, are part of 20 recommendations from the 2022 final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).
The inquiry was led by Professor Alexis Jay and heard evidence from various stakeholders, including claimant lawyers, defendant lawyers, and insurance companies.
The Government has said it will also change the Law of Apologies in response to the report’s recommendations, making it easier for victims to receive apologies from schools, care facilities or hospitals for abuse carried out by someone while working there.
The apologies legislation would not apply to public inquiries or defamation cases and would not be retrospective, the Government said.
‘Thousands’ could finally sue their abusers
The reforms mean that seeking compensation will be easier and less traumatic for “certainly hundreds and potentially thousands” of victims of child sexual abuse, Harrison said.
However, the change does not guarantee that victims will get compensation – or even a trial – as claimants still need enough evidence to prove that the abuse happened.
“They still have to prove the abuse caused them harm,” Harrison said. “They still have to prove that the organisation or institution is liable for that abuse, usually under a principle called vicarious liability.”
She added: “There’s still a lot to prove as they’re very technically complex claims.
“It’s just that one hurdle now has been lessened… This limitation hurdle has been put on the defendants rather than the claimants.”
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