Many victims of sexual abuse don’t realise that as well as reporting the crime to the police, they have the opportunity to seek damages for their suffering from a government compensation scheme. As such, we’ve written this guide on claiming compensation if you’ve been sexually abused by your husband. Whilst we realise that it will be difficult to discuss such personal events, our team of specialists and experienced solicitors could handle much of the claims process for you to try and secure compensation to help you to begin to move forwards again.

If you call us today, a member of our team will listen to your case compassionately. You’re under no obligation to proceed with a claim so we’ll happily explain your options and provide free advice on whatever you decide to do. If you do make a claim, a solicitor on our panel will represent you on a No Win, No Fee basis if your claim is taken on.

If you’ve been sexually abused by your husband and would like to talk about a compensation claim, please call us on 0800 652 1345 today. Alternatively, you’ll find everything you need to know throughout the rest of this guide.

What is sexual abuse by a husband?

Sexual abuse is defined as a crime in the Sexual Offences Act 2003. The law was changed in 1992 which means that sexual abuse by your husband is no longer treated differently from any other type of sexual abuse.

The Sexual Offences Act includes definitions for many marital sexual offences including:

• Rape.
• Sexual assault.
• Assault by penetration.
• Causing sexual activity without consent.
• Sexual assault with a person with a mental disorder impeding choice.
• Voyeurism.
• Exposure.

Sexual assault can include many different acts including unwanted touching, groping, torture or forced kissing.

All of the crimes listed above could constitute sexual abuse by your husband and could therefore entitle you to claim compensation for your suffering.

Claiming compensation for marital rape

It is important to state that marital rape is a crime even though some might believe that’s not the case. This may stem from the fact that before 1992, there was no law relating to rape within marriage. Thankfully, that has now changed so your rights are the same whether you were raped by your husband, partner or anybody else.

As such, you may be entitled to claim compensation through the CICA scheme if you were raped by your husband.

While any payment won’t make things any better, it could make it easier for you to cope with the effects of the crime against you. If you’d like a solicitor on our panel to manage the claims process for you, please get in touch to discuss your options.

What to do following sexual abuse by your husband

NHS advice on what to do if you’re sexually assaulted is that you should not be afraid to get help. Importantly, you can do so without reporting the assault to the police.

Importantly, though, the NHS does suggest that it’s important to seek medical help as you might be at risk of sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) or pregnancy.

If you do want to report the crime to the police, this will improve the likelihood of evidence being obtained from a forensic examination.

If you have been sexually assaulted by your husband, help is available from:

• GP surgeries.
• The National Domestic Abuse Helpline (0808 2000 247).
• Rape Crisis (0808 500 2222).
• A&E departments.
• Sexual health clinics.
• The police (101 or 999 in an emergency).

Although you don’t need to report your crime to get support from any of these organisations, you will need to do so at some point if you’re to claim compensation for sexual abuse by your husband. We’ll explain the reasons why shortly.

How to claim compensation for being sexually abused by your husband

Personal injury claims are possible when you’re injured by somebody else’s negligence. Usually, these cases would be filed against the defendant’s liability insurance cover. As this is not likely to be possible in cases of marital sexual harm, claims are more likely to be made against the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).

The CICA is a government agency that allows victims of violent crimes to be compensated for their injuries. This can include both physical and psychiatric injuries.

As such, if you’ve been sexually abused by your husband, you may be entitled to claim through the CICA scheme.

What are the criteria for making a claim?

CICA officers can only offer compensation for sexual abuse by a husband if the claim meets the scheme’s eligibility criteria. Some of the most important steps that need to be true include that:

• You were sexually abused by your husband.
• You meet the residency and nationality requirements.
• The crime was reported to the police.
• Your claim is lodged within 2-years of the crime happening.

The CICA realise that victims of marital sexual abuse may not be able to report the crime to the police for some time. That may be the case if the abuse is ongoing or if the claimant doesn’t have the mental capacity to speak to the police.

As such, they can be flexible with the time limit in these circumstances and allow the claim to happen within 2-years of the crime being reported to the police rather than when the offence took place. This means that you could claim compensation for historical sexual abuse by your husband as well.

Does my husband need to be in prison for me to claim compensation for sexual abuse?

You may have heard the phrase, “Innocent until proven guilty”. That is the stance in criminal courts meaning that a prosecutor must prove beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant committed a criminal act.

However, CICA claims are based on ‘the balance of probabilities’ meaning that claims can proceed if the claims handler agrees with the proof put before them. That means, if you’ve been sexually abused by your husband, you could be compensated through CICA even if they’ve not been charged, tried in court or imprisoned.

To try and prevent your claim from being rejected by the CICA, you should begin the claims process as soon as possible rather than waiting for any police investigation to be concluded.

Also, throughout the claims process, you must work with the CICA officer and provide them with any additional information needed. To make the process easier, your solicitor will deal with the CICA on your behalf where possible.

How much compensation for sexual abuse by husband?

The CICA scheme uses a tariff of injuries to determine how much compensation you should receive through the scheme. If the CICA agrees to compensate you, they could award damages to cover any physical or mental injuries.

The types of mental harm that could be claimed include:

• Anxiety.
• Depression.
• Stress.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
• Panic attacks.
• Flashbacks.

The scheme allows you to be compensated for the three most serious injuries only. The first injury is awarded 100% of the tariff award, the second receives 30% and the third receives 15%.

To determine how you’ve suffered and how much compensation you could receive, all claims must be supported by an independent medical assessment. This could involve an appointment with a fully-qualified medical expert or psychiatrist who’ll discuss everything with you to see how you’ve suffered.

Once the meeting has finished, they’ll report back to your solicitor to explain your prognosis.

Special expenses through the CICA scheme

As well as claiming compensation for the injuries sustained from sexual abuse by your husband, you could also be entitled to ‘special expenses’ through the CICA scheme. These are costs and expenses linked to your injuries. Special expenses following sexual abuse could include:

• Treatment costs.
• Special equipment such as mobility aids that improve your independence.
• Home adaptations such as ramps or handrails if you’ve been left disabled.
• Care costs.

Special expenses claims through the CICA have the following criteria:

• They must be necessary and required as a direct result of your injuries.
• The cost you are claiming must not be available from other sources such as the NHS.
• All costs must be reasonable.

Special expenses can only be claimed if your injuries have affected you for more than 28 weeks. However, they will be paid from the date you were injured if your claim is successful.

Claiming loss of earnings following sexual abuse by husband

If either your physical or mental injuries have meant you’ve lost income for a period of more than 28 weeks, some of your losses could be paid back by the CICA scheme. Unlike special expenses, loss of earnings awards are not paid for the whole duration of your incapacity. Instead, they are paid from the 29^th week onwards if your claim is successful.

As part of your claim, you’ll need to supply proof such as wage slips, p60s and bank statements.

If you are expected to continue to lose earnings after the claim has been settled, the CICA might also cover these losses too.

How long do CICA claims for sexual abuse take?

The CICA handles large volumes of criminal injury claims each year. While they try to process each claim as quickly as possible and within 12 months, some claims can take longer.

The speed at which a claim for sexual abuse by a husband might take will depend on many factors. As part of the claim, the CICA officer may need to obtain information from the police and the NHS for verification purposes. These steps can affect processing times.

Once a decision has been made, a compensation offer will be sent to you via your solicitor. Once agreed, the CICA aims to pay compensation within 20 working days.

No Win, No Fee claims

We realise that claiming compensation for sexual abuse by your husband is likely to be stressful. We also know that, for many victims, the cost of paying a solicitor for their work upfront can be a barrier to justice. As such, our panel of solicitors offer a No Win, No Fee service for any case they agree to work on.

After your claim has been reviewed, your solicitor will send a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) if they’re happy to represent you. If you decide to proceed, once the CFA has been signed, your solicitor will:

• Talk with you to learn more about your injuries and how you’ve suffered.
• Begin collecting proof to support the claim.
• File the claim with the CICA.
• Handle any questions or queries raised by CICA officers so you don’t need to answer them yourself.
• Try to ensure the claim is processed as efficiently as possible.
• Keep you up to date with the progress of your claim.

You’ll be pleased to know that you won’t need to pay for any of this work in advance. Also, if the claim is rejected by the CICA, you won’t need to pay any legal fees at all. Should your claim be successful, your lawyer will deduct a success fee from your compensation payment. Legally, this is capped at 25% of the settlement amount but yours will be clearly listed within the CFA for clarity.

If you’d like more information on how No Win, No Fee sexual abuse claims against a husband work, please speak to our team.

Start a sexual abuse by husband compensation claim today

If you have decided that you’d like to talk to us about claiming sexual abuse compensation, please call us on 0800 652 1345 today. A friendly advisor will review your options with you and provide free legal advice. They won’t put any pressure on you to claim and you’ll be under no obligation to do so.

If you do decide to proceed and a solicitor from our panel agrees to represent you, they’ll manage the case on a No Win, No Fee basis. That means you won’t need to pay any legal fees whatsoever unless you are compensated.

If you need further advice on sexual abuse by husband compensation claims, please contact us on the phone or via our free live chat service.