Ivison Trust welcomes the response to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), from the Ministry of Justice. They have announced new reforms to support victims of child sexual abuse and exploitation.
- Three-year limit for compensation claims to be axed – enabling victims to come forward when ready
- Burden of proof to shift from survivors to defendants – protecting victims from reliving trauma
- Measures deliver recommendations of Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse
As an organisation working on the front line with victims and their families, we are well aware that it can take many years for victims to come forward about their abuse; let alone feel in a place to apply for the compensation they are entitled to. Axing the three-year limit to claim compensation, may alleviate the pressure many victims feel to make a claim within the previous time scale.
At Ivison Trust, we have long advocated that much more focus needs to be placed on the defendants. Our evidence-based, Relational Safeguarding Model demonstrates the importance of working in partnership to disrupt defendants. The overwhelming focus on the victims and their families to prove that they have been the victims of exploitation, causes untold stress and trauma. Shifting the burden of proof from survivors to the defendants is an important and much needed step forward in tackling these heinous crimes.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse made a number of recommendations, none of which so far have been implemented. Ivison Trust fully supports the findings from the inquiry and is encouraged to hear that the Ministry of Justice plans to deliver on those important and much needed recommendations.
Dr Sarah Hall, Head of Research and Training