Time bar on abuse payouts to be lifted

BBC News
June 22, 2017

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-40357621

Victims of abuse dating back to 1964 will now be able to seek damages through the courts

Child abuse survivors held a vigil outside Rosebery House when an inquiry into historical abuse opened in Edinburgh last month

The three-year limit on survivors of childhood abuse suing for damages is to be scrapped by MSPs.

The move will allow victims of abuse dating back as far as 1964 to seek compensation for their injuries though the civil courts.

Victims currently have just three years from the date of their injury - or from their 16th birthday - to bring a court action.

The limit will be removed by the Limitation (Childhood Abuse) Bill.

The bill is likely to be unanimously approved when MSPs vote in the Scottish Parliament later.

It will allow the three-year time bar to be lifted so long as the victim was a child under the age of 18 when they suffered sexual, physical or emotional abuse.

The pursuer must also be the person who has been abused - so relatives of victims who have since died will not be able to seek damages.

The individual responsible for carrying out the abuse can be sued directly, but damages can also be sought against employers for their current or former employees.

The new law will apply to anyone who suffered abuse on or after 26 September 1964, but not to victims who were abused before that date.

The legislation has received widespread support, with all five parties at Holyrood backing it despite concerns about the financial impact on organisations such as councils.

Scottish government estimates of there potentially being 2,200 victims who would be affected by the change in the law have been described as "conservative".

An independent Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry into historical child abuse is currently under way, led by judge Lady Smith.

More than 60 institutions, including several top private schools and church bodies, are being investigated.

Community Safety Minister Annabelle Ewing has previously said it was important to "remove barriers to survivors pursuing civil damages".

She added: "This bill is about access to justice. It is about acknowledging the unique position of survivors of childhood abuse as children who were betrayed by those they should have been able to trust - recognising the abhorrent nature of the abuse, the vulnerability of the child at the time, and the profound impact of abuse.

"An impact which lasts well into adulthood and which, itself, prevents people from coming forward."