Hundreds of child victims refused payouts by Government agency since 2012, FOI figures reveal
by May Bulman
While the law states that it is a crime to have sexual activity
with someone under the age of 16, the payment rules are being
interpreted to suggest children can consent to their abuse
Sexually abused children as young as 12 are being refused
compensation by a Government agency on the grounds that they “consented”
to their abuse, charities have warned.
The
Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) has refused payouts to
nearly 700 child victims of sexual abuse since 2012, ranging between
£1,000 and £44,000, according to a Freedom of Information request.
The charity coalition, which includes Barnardo’s, Victim Support and
Liberty, has written to the Justice Secretary David Lidington, demanding
the government urgently reviews CICA’s guidelines.
While
the law states that it is a crime to have sexual activity with someone
under the age of 16, the payment rules are being interpreted to suggest
children can consent to their abuse, the coalition said.
The charities are calling for the rules to be changed so no child
groomed and manipulated into sexual abuse is denied compensation because
they complied with their abuse through fear or lack of understanding.
YouGov polling for the campaign shows two thirds of people (66 per
cent) of people think the rules should be amended so a child cannot be
found to have “consented” to activities involved in their sexual
exploitation.
In
one case, a girl who was raped and sexually assaulted when she was 14
at the hands of a gang of older men who were subsequently jailed for 30
years was denied compensation by CICA on the grounds that “she had not
been the victim of non-consensual sexual acts”.
She was reportedly left devastated feeling that she was somehow responsible for the abuse she’d suffered.
Director of Liberty Martha Spurrier said it was a “disgrace” that a
state agency could imply child sex abuse victims who may have been
brainwashed or manipulated had consented.
“Grooming is brainwashing – perpetrators manipulate children into
situations that look like consent. No child can consent to abuse, which
is why the criminal law rightly says they are simply unable to do so,”
she said.
“For a state agency to tell children who have survived these horrific
crimes that they did consent – and deny them compensation – is a
disgrace. The Government must urgently change these guidelines.”
Barnardo’s chief executive Javed Khan called for the CICA’s
guidelines to be “urgently reviewed” to prevent rules that are supposed
to protect children from harming them, saying: “For children to be
denied compensation on the grounds that they ‘consented’ to the abuse
they have suffered is nothing short of scandalous.
“The very rules that are supposed to protect children are actually
harming them. The Government must urgently review CICA’s guidelines so
that young victims receive the redress they deserve. Ministers must
guarantee that no child will ever be told that they consented to their
own abuse.”
