End the “unnecessary and tortuous” delays to legal reform for sex abuse survivors

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) consulted on options for reform of the law on limitation for civil claims despite a recommendation from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) that the three-year time limit for bringing a claim should be scrapped.

Not-for-profit group APIL (the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers) says the three-year time limit imposed on victims to pursue a civil claim for compensation against organisations, such as churches, after suffering abuse, needs to be scrapped.

“It has been nearly two years since the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), which ran for seven years and heard thousands of harrowing testimonies from survivors, made a very clear recommendation to abolish the time limit. So far that has not happened,” said APIL president Kim Harrison, who specialises in civil compensation claims for victims and survivors of non-recent child sexual abuse public inquiry work, and represented survivors in the IICSA.

A Ministry of Justice (MoJ) consultation on reforming the law on limitation in abuse cases closed on July 10.

“Survivors have waited long enough. The new Government must not kick this down the road for any longer. It could and should get on with implementing the recommendation from IICSA. This consultation is yet another unnecessary and tortuous delay,” she said.

“Research shows the average time it takes for a survivor of abuse to come forward is 24 to 27 years. This is due to many reasons including fear, shame and guilt over something that was in no way their fault. The limitation time bar law needs ditching in England and Wales, as they have already done in Scotland,” said Kim.

“Currently the law does allow discretion to disapply the limit but for this to happen survivors must apply to the court, which causes new and needless anguish. The limitation time bar should be abolished in cases involving all forms of child abuse, including physical and emotional, as they are so often linked,” Kim added.

APIL also agrees with IICSA that it should be for defendants to prove if a fair trial is not possible. As the law stands currently, survivors must make the case that the time which has elapsed is not a barrier to a fair trial.