The three year time limit for victims of historic sexual abuse to bring a claim for damages will be removed in England and Wales.
In a long-awaited response to one of the recommendations from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), led by Professor Alexis Jay, the government has announced it will scrap the time limit for victims making personal injury claims related to child sexual abuse.
The government has also shifted the burden of proof regarding fair trials. Previously, victims had to demonstrate that a fair trial could proceed despite the passage of time. Now, the defendant will have to prove that a fair trial is impossible or that they would be significantly prejudiced by the delay.
This new legislation is expected to affect all claims for historical child sexual abuse, including cases where the victim has already consulted a solicitor. Therefore, any victim previously advised by a solicitor that their case was “out of time” may now be able to make a claim. However, this change will not allow victims who have already settled their claims (even if the settlement was at a lower sum due to the time limits) or those who have lost their case in court to reopen their cases.
Gary Walker, Partner and Head of the Enable Law specialist child abuse team said:
“This is a landmark moment for survivors and victims of abuse. I am pleased that the government has recognised that the time limits applied to claims involving child abuse are wholly inappropriate. Making a claim is often the only way a victim can achieve some measure of justice. However, they frequently encounter legal defences arguing that their claim is out of time because it wasn’t initiated before they turned 21. This is the case even if the victim hadn’t disclosed the abuse, spoken to the police, or even fully comprehended what they had experienced or the impact they had.
It is vital that the law is enacted as a matter of priority. The victims and survivors I support deserve to know what the law will say and how it will affect them. Over two years have passed since the IICSA recommendation to remove time limits and during that time many victims have been prejudiced by the inappropriate time lime limits that are imposed on them.”
