81 Response Accepted

Revised damages guidelines for CSA cases

Recommendation

The Judicial College should revise its Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases to include a freestanding section on the damages that may be appropriate in cases of child sexual abuse. This new section of the guidelines should advise the court to take into account the nature and severity of the abuse itself, any short-term and long-term physical, emotional and psychiatric or psychological injuries, and the general effect of the abuse on the claimant's capacity to function throughout their life. The latter may include the ability to sustain personal and sexual relationships, to benefit from education and to undertake paid employment.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
- The Judicial College published the 16th edition of the 'Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases' on 11 April 2022, which includes a specific section on sexual abuse (Judicial College, Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases, 16th Edition, April 2022).
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Evidence searched by gemini-3-flash-preview on 24 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
Jurisdiction
England
Section Reference
G
Response
Accepted
Accepted UK Government
22 May 2023

The Judicial College informed the Inquiry that the revised edition of its Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases was published on 11 April 2022. The Judicial College stated that the new edition includes a section on sexual abuse, which incorporates the factors to be taken into account in valuing general damages for sexual abuse. These include the nature and duration of the abuse, the physical and/or psychological effects caused and the effect on the injured person's ability to sustain personal and sexual relationships.

Read Full Response
Source
Inquiry IICSA
Report Accountability and Reparations Investigation Report 19 Sep 2019
Responsible Bodies
Judicial College Primary
Recommendation age 6.5 yrs
Last formal update 1038 days ago