Hundreds of child rape survivors, including those targeted by grooming gangs, are expected to pursue their abusers in the courts after ministers scrapped a three-year time limit on compensation claims.
Under reforms hailed by campaigners as a “watershed moment”, ministers said civil claims will no longer have to be brought within three years of a child abuse survivor’s 18th birthday.
Apologies will also be made easier to pursue, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said, as it announced implementation of two more of the 20 recommendations from the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).
The parent of one grooming gang victim said the development will allow “dozens of women to seek compensation from rapists who have walked away without handing over a penny.”
Under current rules, civil child sexual abuse claims must be brought within three years of turning 18, unless the victim can prove a fair trial can proceed despite the time lapse.
The IICSA was told a “significant number” of claims are being rejected because it can take “decades for survivors to feel able to discuss their sexual abuse”.
Under the reforms, cases will proceed unless the defendant proves a fair hearing cannot take place, for example due to lack of evidence.
Richard Scorer and Kim Harrison, lawyers who acted for 120 victims and survivors and who were called to give evidence on the time limit, said the reforms are “long overdue and very welcome”.
“Unfair and antiquated time limits in child abuse cases, which fail to recognise the lifelong impact of trauma, have long been a bar to justice,” they added.
IICSA also heard that in many child sexual abuse cases, an apology by an institution such as a school or hospital trust was usually desired but rarely given, blocking victims’ path to closure.
Organisations are often reluctant to apologise due to concerns it may be interpreted by insurers as an admission of fault.
The government will clarify that apologies “could and should” be offered by employers for the actions of current or former employees, an MoJ spokesperson said.
Both reforms are expected to be part of bills due to be brought before parliament in the next year.
Last month, the government confirmed it would introduce a mandatory reporting duty for those working with children to report sexual abuse as part of the crime and policing bill.
The move followed increasing pressure on the government to act since the issue was taken up by billionaire Elon Musk on his social media platform X. Ministers have denied that they would not have acted if Musk had not spoken out.
Gabrielle Shaw, chief executive of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC), described the latest announcements as a “watershed moment for survivors of child sexual abuse”.
Justice minister Sarah Sackman said: “The courts must work for the public they serve, and we recognise that victims and survivors need time to process their trauma.
“By changing the law, it will now be possible for victims to come forward and seek justice when they feel ready to do so.”
