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Church Sexual Abuse Claims & Compensation

Church Abuse Compensation

Priests, vicars and other religious leaders should be seen as people of faith whom you can trust, but sadly there are a lot of them who abuse this trust and manipulate their power to gain control over vulnerable children and adults. 

Church abuse is quite common, and if you have been subjected to it we can help you bring a church abuse compensation claim against the church. Even though we obviously cannot change what has happened in the past, this claim for church abuse compensation could allow you to get the support you need to rebuild your life and move forward. 

Different types of Church abuse 

Unfortunately there are different types of abuse carried out within the Church, as the predators take advantage of their trusted and powerful position to groom and abuse both children and adults. 

It’s likely that the abuse takes the form of sexual, physical or psychological abuse. 

Often cases about church or clergy abuse will relate to historic abuse that took place years ago, but it’s not uncommon for it to be an adult member of the church or congregation to have been abused. 

Whether it is historic church abuse or more recently, it’s best to report the abuse to the police. Not only do they have officers specially trained to deal with church abuse, but they’ll also be able to begin a criminal investigation. Getting a criminal conviction will certainly help when it comes to claiming church abuse compensation or clergy abuse compensation, but even if the conviction doesn’t happen, you are still able to make a claim. 

How Church claims are dealt with 

The Church is still trying its best to reverse the preconceptions that people have built around it since sexual abuse within the church came to light. Whilst they are implementing systems to deal with the sexual abuse, there are still compensation claims being made. 

When you make a sexual abuse claim against the Church, you are brining it against the church, as opposed to the individual under ‘vicarious liability’. This means that the Church are legally responsible for the individual’s actions because they undertook this abuse whilst at work. 

It was a 2012 decision made by the  Court of Appeal which deemed that whilst a priest may not be paid a wage by the Church, their role is similar to that of an employee. Therefore the Church would be vicariously liable for the actions they take whilst within this role. 

Are there time limitations to a Church abuse compensation claim? 

You are legally able to bring a claim of compensation for child abuse until the age of 21. However, there are exceptions to the rules because it can be such a highly emotive topic, and people might not be willing or able to discuss this until late on in life. Extensions to this time limit can be granted, but your solicitor will have to prove the reasons why you wasn’t able to come forward until this time. 

Make a church or clergy abuse claim with TDP Solicitors 

We are here to help men and women who have been abused by the Church when they were younger, or even more recently. Whether the abuse occurred months, years or decades ago, TDP Solicitors can help. Our highly trained and specialist solicitors have worked on numerous abuse cases and we are positive we can help you get compensation you deserve. 

If you feel ready to discuss what has happened to you, then please contact us today, we can arrange a non-committed meeting to discuss your case and you can decide whether you’d like to move forward with your claim or not.