New reforms to support victims of child sexual abuse

The government published its response to the consultation on limitation law in child sexual abuse cases in England and Wales on 5 February 2025.

We consider the government’s response, how the law will change, and offer a comparison with the law on limitation of abuse claims in Scotland. 

The government’s response – a deep dive

Reforms are will be introduced to support the survivors and victims of child sexual abuse, delivering on recommendations from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). The final report of IICSA was published on 20 October 2022 following a seven year investigation into the extent to which institutions across England and Wales failed in their duty of care to protect and safeguard children from sexual exploitation and abuse.

Currently civil child sexual abuse claims must be brought within three years of turning 18 years old, unless the victim can prove a fair trial can proceed despite the time lapse.

The government has recognised that it might take years, and sometimes decades for victims and survivors to disclose their trauma. In line with the recommendations from IICSA and the majority of those who responded to the consultation, removal of the three-year limitation period will apply to all civil child sexual abuse claims brought by victims and survivors. However, there are exceptions, namely:

• Claims brought on behalf of victims and survivors estates; and
• Claims which have already been dismissed by a court or settled by agreement.

The reforms will apply to cases that are issued and all cases that have not yet been settled or dismissed by a court. The changes are limited to child sexual abuse claims and do not cover claims for emotional or physical abuse.

The reversal of the burden of proof

The burden of proof on limitation issues will shift from survivors to defendants. IICSA says that this will enable cases to be heard more easily, and protect victims from reliving their trauma.

A legal action will proceed unless the defendant satisfies the court that:

• It is not possible for a fair hearing to proceed; or
• The defendant would be substantially prejudiced were the action to proceed.

Limitation arguments will still be open where defendants can prove that these tests are met.

This will reflect the law in Scotland following the Limitation (Childhood Abuse) (Scotland) Act 2017. This Act dispenses with limitation for any claim for damages for abuse which took place or began in the victim’s childhood, including physical and emotional abuse or neglect as well as sexual abuse, provided that the abuse took place after September 1964. The Act creates an exception where a fair trial is not possible, or where there is substantial prejudice to the defender which outweighs the pursuer’s interest in the claim proceeding.

Scottish courts have concluded that the death of a named perpetrator will not create that degree of prejudice, if the abuse complained of was part of an overall and generally known regime in a care setting, which other living witnesses can speak to.

Law of apologies

Changes to the law of apologies will also be implemented. IICSA heard that in many child sexual abuse cases, an apology by an institution was desired but not delivered.

The law will be amended to make it easier for a victim to gain an apology. However, any changes to the legislation will not compel a defendant organisation to make an apology and the legislation will not be retrospective.

Again, this mirrors Scottish legislation. The Apologies (Scotland) Act 2017 states that, in any legal proceedings covered by the Act, any apology made by a defender outside of the proceedings in connection with any matter:

1. Is not admissible as evidence on liability in connection with the same matter.
2. Cannot be used in any other way to the prejudice of the apologising person.

As apologies are not necessarily reported or recorded, it is difficult to assess whether they have become more frequent since the Act came into force.

Additional measures

The government has reported that it will allocate £10 million to protect children across the country from grooming gangs, and introduce legislation to tackle online child sexual abuse, including two world leading measures on AI-generated child sexual abuse material.

Legislation will be brought forward to make grooming an aggravating factor in the sentencing of child sexual offences. A new offence will also be created so anyone covering up child sexual abuse will face criminal sanctions.

In addition, a new mandatory reporting duty (as proposed by IICSA), in the Crime and Policing Bill will be considered by Parliament in Spring.

The redress scheme recommended by IICSA is not referred to in the government’s consultation response but has again been called for by those representing victims of sexual abuse.

The Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse In Care) (Scotland) Act 2021 introduced a redress scheme with effect from December 2021. IICSA addressed sexual abuse only, but without limiting this to specific settings, whereas the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry addressed all types of abuse, but in residential care settings only. The Scottish redress scheme similarly only makes awards to those who experienced childhood abuse in residential care.

Comment

A pre-action protocol (PAP) for child sexual abuse claims is being considered following a Civil Justice Council review which commenced in November 2021 and concluded in November 2024. No details of the proposed content of this new PAP have yet been made available.

As a result of the government’s response, all child sexual abuse cases brought in England and Wales will proceed unless the defendant can prove that a fair hearing cannot take place, for example due to lack of evidence. The burden of proof will also shift from survivors to defendants.

The proposed reforms will require primary legislation and the government has yet to decide on its approach. We will provide further updates as matters progress.