Historic abuse claims
To get compensation for historic abuse the claimant needs to prove that abuse took place. Often, this can be difficult where the abuse occurred 20 or 30 or more years ago. Due to the passage of time any circumstantial or forensic evidence may be lost. It may come down to the word of the claimant against the word of the abuser.
Requirement of corroboration
As it stands currently, the criminal law in Scotland requires at least two independent sources of evidence of the abuse to secure a conviction. For example, the evidence of the victim can be corroborated by circumstantial or forensic evidence. But, in cases of historic abuse such circumstantial or forensic evidence is unlikely to be available. So, without corroboration, it is difficult to get a conviction.
Change in the law
A change in the Scottish criminal law to do away with the requirement for two independent sources of evidence in abuse cases has been proposed by the Scottish Government. The law hasn’t changed yet but it’s likely that it may change soon. This will make it easier to obtain convictions in cases of historic abuse. In future, if the court or jury is persuaded on the evidence of the victim alone, it can convict the abuser.
If convictions in historic abuse cases are more likely, then it will be easier in future to make compensation claims for historic abuse. The claimant can rely on the conviction and doesn’t need to provide any further evidence of the abuse. We will monitor the progress of the proposed change in the law and will update the change on our website as and when it becomes law.
