Here at Emmott Snell, we've observed first-hand what a challenge it can be to express oneself and carry the weight of an emotional burden. While we learn to develop a professional resilience, it can be frustrating to see a client so close to legal justice, yet so far from battling their emotional demons.
Tracey Emmott
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Sexual abuse in childhood by a person in authority is the ultimate betrayal.
Often that person represents an institution and may be a religious leader such as a priest or imam, a teacher, a Scout leader or a sports coach.
Where the abuser is acting in two capacities at the same time, a civil compensation claim may be directed against two organisations.
It is common knowledge that the English legal system is not overly sympathetic to adults seeking justice for childhood sexual abuse in the civil courts. The law in England and Wales is such that time to bring a civil compensation claim expires on the 21st birthday of anyone who was sexually abused as a child.
The Church of England is currently suffering the discomfort of a public spotlight of IICSA – the largest public inquiry ever undertaken in the UK. The C of E is not alone in its scrutiny, the Roman Catholic Church having already been the subject of IICSA, together with several other institutions including local authority children’s homes.
The concept of sending one’s child away to a school where they also live is thought to be something quintessentially British.
In view of the upcoming public hearings of Child Abuse in the Anglican Church before the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, the recently settled case of abuse victim, ‘ARJ’, a civil compensation claim in respect of abuse of a child by a vicar in a London Diocese is topical.
In 2013, the Australian government set up a formal inquiry into how institutions had responded to child abuse. Terms of reference were established and 6 Commissioners were appointed chaired by the Honourable Justice Peter McClellan. Their brief was to enquire into institutional responses to allegations and incidents of child sexual abuse and related matters.
Tracey Emmott was invited to speak at the National Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA) Service Conference 2017 on 23 November in Birmingham, organised by the Survivors Trust.
The title of the conference was “What's in it for me - developing survivor focused justice processes”, and provided an opportunity for Tracey to speak about civil compensation claims as a vehicle for redress in sexual abuse/assault cases.
I recently heard the first hand account of a woman who shared her experience of restorative justice in the context of a very serious sexual offence committed against her.
She spoke of having been victim to the most heinous of sexual crimes, yet after a period of years of counselling developed a desire to meet her perpetrator. She wanted not only to try and understand him, but also to explain the impact his actions had had on her and her family. For her own freedom she also wanted to offer him her forgiveness.
Until last week, the law has failed children who have been abused whilst in foster care, providing them with no avenue for financial redress though the civil courts in the form of abuse compensation. Local authorities could only be held to be legally responsible if negligence was proved, but that is notoriously difficult in abuse cases. This left many survivors of abuse in foster care with no legal remedy whatsoever.
