We have been instructed by a victim who was sexually abused as a child whilst a resident at St Vincent’s Orphanage in Newcastle.
We have recently been instructed by a victim of Keith Hartle (deceased) who was a National Boating Officer in the Nautical Training Corps (‘NTC’). Our client was assaulted by Hartle over many years in the 1990’s.
We have recently been instructed by a victim of a former music teacher, Paul Johnson who was sexually assaulted by him over a period of many years.
Following the exposure of Jimmy Saville’s abuse in 2012 and the huge media attention that followed the public could be forgiven for concluding that in recent times sexual abuse is perhaps not quite as prevalent.
Recent televisions programmes have shone a light on the prevalence of female paedophiles: the current storyline in EastEnders which sees Mick Carter reliving the sexual abuse he suffered as a child by his social worker Katie, is a case in point.
For the majority of us we consider our GP or other medical professionals to be people who we can feel safe with when having a consultation.
Editors note: This blog incorporates information previously published in November 2018 but provides a short update on developments since then.
Editor's note: This post was originally written in 2019 and has since been updated for relevance.
A victim of sexual abuse by a vicar has successfully obtained an out-of-court settlement in a civil claim against The Diocese of Chichester for sexual assaults she suffered as a child.
Over recent years, there has been a shocking increase in the number of students presenting with a mental health problem. Researchers in 2019 undertook an investigation into 38,000 university students in the UK and found that, alarmingly, half of these students had suffered with suicidal thoughts. Moreover, four out of ten of these students admitted to using drugs or alcohol to cope with their problems, whilst one in three had had experienced a serious psychological issue for which they felt they needed professional help.
The purpose of a civil claim is to seek recognition for survivors in the form of ‘damages’ or compensation for abuse suffered by them. This compensation aims to put survivors in the financial position they would have been in, had the abuse not occurred.
