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Can I Claim Compensation for Abuse when I was a Child?
Although it may be many years before you speak out about the abuse you experienced as a child, you may still be able to claim compensation for child abuse.
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Abuse Victims who Lived with Abuser Can Now Claim CICA Compensation
Posted on: 1 min read
Tamsin Johns-Chapman
Abuse Claims Solicitor
For many years, some of the most vulnerable abuse victims across the UK have been unable to claim compensation, because of what’s known as the “same roof” rule.
Under the rule, people such as child abuse and domestic violence survivors couldn’t claim compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) if:
- The criminal injury was sustained before 1st October 1979
- At the time of the incident, the victim and the assailant were living together as members of the same family.
But in these types of abuse cases, the choice as to whom they lived with and where they lived was often outside their control. That’s led to the legality of the “same roof” rule being challenged and finally, the UK government has announced that the “same roof” rule is being abolished – a move which paves the way for those previously ineligible for an award to claim compensation for abuse from CICA.
For free legal advice contact our Abuse Claims Solicitors. We may be able to deal with your claim on a No Win, No Fee basis – ask us for details.
Call our team today0808 239 1287
We're rated‘Excellent’What is the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme?
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme is a government-funded scheme administered by CICA. It was created in 1996 to compensate blameless victims of violent crime in Great Britain (it excludes Northern Ireland as they have their own scheme).
The scheme enables survivors who have sustained injuries on or after 1st August 1964 to be compensated. Parliament sets the rules of the scheme and the value of the compensation payments.
As the CICA website states, no financial award can “fully compensate you for what you have suffered or lost”. However, it describes an award, which varies in size to reflect the seriousness of the injury, as “society’s way of recognising that you have been a victim”.
There have been a number of versions of the scheme since 1996 and the most recent is the 2012 version. This is currently under review and following the commitment to scrapping the “same roof” rule, we hope there will be further amendments that will benefit survivors of abuse in the near future.
For more than 20 years, we’ve been helping abuse victims claim their legal rights. Contact us to find out how we can help you.
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Posted on:How to Claim Compensation for Historic Child Abuse
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Posted on:Is it Ever too Late to Complain About Historical Abuse?
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