Victims of child sexual abuse to be compensated, Suella Braverman announces

Home Secretary Suella Braverman at The Lighthouse Children's Center in London Photo: Yui Mok/PA

National Compensation Scheme for Victims of Sexual Assault over children, announced Swella Braverman in England.

Thousands of victims «failed by institutions in the past»; will be eligible for fixed-term compensation paid by the government.

This was recommended by the Seven Year Independent Child Sexual Abuse Investigation (IICSA), a report of which was published last October.

The Home Secretary told the House of Commons it was a landmark commitment, but acknowledged it would take time to pass as MPs urged her not to delay the necessary reforms.

"This will be a step forward. changing our approach to child sexual abuse. we need it, and we'll do it right, and if it takes time, it's time well spent. I don't want to give victims and survivors the false impression that these important commitments will be fulfilled overnight" she told the House of Commons.

"But I can promise them that today marks a new beginning, signifies a change of direction, and is an acknowledgment of what they have been through, what they have testified to, and work is an investigation."

The £186.6m investigation launched in 2015 looked at 15 areas that examined institutional responses to child sexual abuse, including investigations into abuse in Westminster and the church. More than 7,000 victims participated.

IICSA, in making its recommendation, stated that applicants for the scheme should have been subjected to abuse «with a clear link to state or non-state institutions.»

Arguing in favor of a reparation scheme, the investigation found that there are problems with current civil justice and criminal compensation schemes that often «fail to provide the accountability and redress required by victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.»

The government said victims, survivors and charities would be consulted on a number of aspects of the scheme, including who it should support and how non-state institutions should be involved.

The ministers, however, rejected a number of proposals. other recommendations of the investigation, excluding calls for the Minister of Children's Affairs in the Cabinet.

The government's official response, released on Monday, claims that the Minister of Education is already «providing a voice in the Cabinet for the Protection and Protection of Children and will continue to monitor to ensure that their voices are consistently heard at Cabinet level.”

The Government also stated that while it recognizes the need for a stronger protection system, it believed that the role of the recommended body for child protection had already been fulfilled by others authorities.

Ministers also said the government was acting «quickly»; introduce a mandatory obligation for professionals working with children to report concerns about sexual abuse, with the start of 12-week consultations.

The Home Secretary emphasized the need for "cultural change" to combat abuse.