Compensation reduced or refused for abuse survivors who themselves commit a crime

A BBC report highlights a flaw in the system which prejudices abuse survivors

A BBC report has confirmed that the Criminal Injury Compensation Authority (CICA) have reduced the compensation awards of up to 400 abuse victims because they have committed a criminal offence.

The CICA scheme specifically rules out paying compensation to individuals who commit serious crime but in cases where the offences are relatively trivial, they generally reduce an award by up to 30%. Some campaigners argue that survivors of abuse have been prejudiced by this approach as the view taken by the CICA takes no account of the serious psychological harm suffered by many of the people concerned.

There should be some balance in terms of understanding what the victims have been through rather than applying a broad brush approach.