Child abuse lawyers are urging the government to change the law on limitation periods. The Association of Child Abuse Lawyers (ACAL) is campaigning to force the government to implement changes recommended by the Law Commission (Report 270 - published in 2001) that would abolish the six year time limit for bringing a claim for assault, and replace it with the same time limit for negligence actions: three years from the date of the event or the date of majority, but extendable to a much later date in certain circumstances.
Peter Garsden, Vice-President of ACAL, said the change was particularly important in abuse and rape cases, where many victims feel unable to issue legal proceedings untiil many years after the event.
"The law on time limits is against the survivor of abuse who decides to make a disclosure many years after the event. Currently the individual abuser escapes civil liability once the claimant reaches 24. This is encouraging the suppression of disclosure by the victim through intimidation, which is all too common in these types of cases", he said.
ACAL members are asking clients to write to their MP's to ask them to support this "long overdue reform of the law. A letter of support can be downloaded from www.childabuselawyers.com (see link here)
ACAL, Suite 5, Claremont House, 22-24 Claremont Road, Surbiton, KT6 4QU : DX 57714 Surbiton 1: Tel. +44 208 390 4701 (10.00 -1.00pm & 2pm - 4pm. Tuesdays and Thursdays only) Fax +44 20 8399 1152
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