Rape victim compensation scheme: Real life case study
If you need guidance on making a rape victim compensation scheme claim then contact us for a free case assessment on 0333 888 0446 or send an email to us in confidence at [email protected]
Remember, you may be able to bring a claim even if the crime occurred many years ago and you are outside the standard time limits under the scheme. If you are in any doubt then give us a call.
To give you an idea of the sort of case we can help you with, here is a real life case study of a woman who thought she had left it too late to submit her claim.
She had suffered prolonged sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather. The abuse began when she was just 11 years old and continued throughout the remainder of her childhood. The abuse escalated until our client was regularly being raped by her stepfather from the age of 15. When our client became an adult the abuse continued as she had been groomed and coerced to such a degree by her stepfather that she was unable to escape. The abuse therefore continued until our client was about 25 years old. Our client’s child was fathered by her stepfather.
Her brother eventually discovered the abuse and with his support she was able to report her stepfather to the police. Following the police investigation her stepfather was prosecuted, facing 19 criminal charges.
At trial the stepfather was convicted and sentenced to serve a substantial custodial sentence.
Our client instructed us to pursue a rape victim compensation scheme claim with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). This is a government funded compensation scheme for rape victims and other innocent victims of sexual abuse and violent crime. We were able to deal with the compensation scheme claim on a No Win, No Fee basis so there was no financial risk to her.
The CICA compensation scheme requires claims to be submitted within 2 years of the crime being committed. Where the victim of the crime is a child at the time and there is no police involvement until adulthood then the application for compensation should be submitted within 2 years of the report to the police.
In this case our client was well outside the stipulated time limit. We therefore obtained medical evidence from our client’s GP and counsellor to show that she felt unable to seek legal advice or make her compensation scheme application earlier because of the psychological effects of the rapes and sexual abuse and the subsequent criminal trial. We argued that the CICA should therefore apply its discretion to extend the standard time limit due to exceptional circumstances.
The CICA accepted our arguments and allowed her rape victim compensation scheme claim to proceed.
Our client subsequent received a substantial award of compensation. She was happy with the outcome saying, “It is more than enough to get me and my children where we want to be. I have been through so much and this is the end of the chapter for me. Thank you so much for all of your help”.