The law of England and Wales affords a variety of ways for perpetrators of child sexual abuse to be held to account under criminal law and in civil law. Many victims seeking reparations for child sexual abuse have found the experience of the legal processes sometimes hostile, baffling, frustrating and futile.

One witness (ciphered as AR-A21) described his experience of giving evidence in civil proceedings:

“At the time, I thought – and the way the trial proceeded, it just felt like another case of somebody saying, ‘Well, are you sure you’re telling the truth?’, sort of thing, and it’s that feeling of, ‘Well, is it really pointless – is there really any point carrying on?’ … It’s embarrassing, and it was like reliving again everything that had gone on. It’s something that – I think a lot of people would be reluctant to do it to relative strangers, and that’s what makes it difficult … ”

The accountability and reparations public hearing took evidence from 40 witnesses over a period of 15 days between November 2018 and January 2019.

Victims and survivors described child sexual abuse and its aftermath spanning a period of nearly 60 years from the 1960s to the present day in five case studies: Forde Park Approved School in Devon, Stanhope Castle Approved School in County Durham, St Leonard’s children’s home in Essex, North Wales children’s homes, and St Aidan’s Approved School in Widnes, Cheshire and St Vincent’s Approved School in Merseyside. Each witness gave evidence of their experience of seeking accountability and reparations for the abuse suffered.

The redress which a victim or complainant may seek can include punishment of the perpetrator, compensation from an individual or institution, acknowledgement that the abuse occurred, an apology, an explanation of how the abuse was allowed to happen, an assurance of non-recurrence, and counselling or other support.

A crime report to the police may lead to a Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) award, prosecution, conviction and imprisonment of the perpetrator and/or a criminal compensation order (CCO). A criminal complaint must be proved to a high standard – beyond reasonable doubt – but there is no time limit for the complaint to be made.

A complaint via civil law is, by contrast, usually for compensation from an institution which has legal responsibility for the perpetrator. The civil law complaint may be proved to a lower standard – the balance of probabilities – but must usually be brought within a limited time period of three years from the abuse or the 18th birthday of the complainant. The complainant will often find out after initiating a civil law claim that the opposing party is not the named institution but is substituted by the institution’s public liability insurer.

The criminal law route to a conviction of the perpetrator and the civil law route to compensation for the victim are distinct legal processes each with its own intricacies. Complexity is added when, as is often appropriate, the two processes – civil and criminal – are pursued concurrently and in parallel. Further complication is caused when the law, practice and procedure are altered during the course of proceedings.

Witnesses who sought redress for child sexual abuse at one or more of the institutions considered in this part of this investigation described the variety of bafflement and distress they endured in attempting to attain their remedies at law: they became embroiled in litigation which spanned decades; their cases had been brought against the wrong defendant; they felt they were treated unfairly in court; they had successfully proved their case on the facts but they could have no remedy due to the operation of the law of limitation.

This investigation spans the period from the 1960s to the present day. During that time, the law, practice and procedure for the conduct of sexual abuse cases in the criminal courts and in the civil courts has evolved in important respects. On this we heard evidence from legal and other professional witnesses, including: barristers, solicitors, senior police officers from the local police forces that investigated the relevant institutions, insurance companies, the Association of British Insurers, the Ministry of Justice, the CICA and charities that provide support to victims of sexual violence. From them, we heard their experiences of some systemic failings and recommendations for improvement.

Some of the failings which were identified are already addressed by recommendations made by the Inquiry in our Interim Report of April 2018.

Some proposals are still under consideration and are due for further consideration by the Inquiry later this year. One such proposal is a redress scheme to enable victims and survivors of child sexual abuse to obtain accountability and reparations. Another proposal under consideration is for the law of limitation in civil proceedings to be reformed to make it easier for victims and survivors to bring civil claims for non-recent child sexual abuse.

Our approach to this investigation has been to examine the evidence we heard for areas in the legal processes where the experience of, and outcomes for, victims and survivors of child sexual abuse may be made fairer and more effective.

The evidence which has been heard in this investigation leaves no doubt that none of the avenues for redress which we have examined – civil justice, criminal compensation (CCOs and CICA awards) or support services – is always able to adequately provide the remedies which are sought as accountability and reparations for victims and survivors of sexual abuse.

Peter Robson, a survivor who waived anonymity at our hearing, told us:

“I feel I need a lifetime of help … I don’t like myself. There’s times I hate myself … ”

In this report, we make recommendations for: revision of the Victims’ Code to improve signposting of civil and criminal compensation; revision of the civil justice system so that the Local Government Association and the Association of British Insurers must produce codes of practice (aimed at eliminating unneccessary distress to claimants) to be followed throughout civil claims for child sexual abuse; revision of criminal justice compensation to increase the use of CCOs; and provision of a code to enhance access to therapy and support for victims and survivors through the litigation process.