Child Abuse

Confidentiality and child abuse compensation claims

• We will keep confidential everything you tell us and all documents we receive in connection with your child abuse compensation claim.

• You can decide whether we can telephone you and if so, where, and whether you want us to write to you at your home address or somewhere else.

• We will ask your permission to contact others about your case, such as social services and the police.

• However you should understand that the facts which form the basis of your child abuse compensation claim will need to be disclosed at some point to the defendant, their insurers and solicitors, the court, the medical experts and the organisation funding your case (such as the Legal Services Commission).

• We can apply to the court to anonymise your details on the face of court documents in connection with your child abuse compensation claim.

• We can advise you on the operation of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2002 which prohibits journalists printing any details which could identify a victim of sexual abuse, without their express consent.

• In our office, any draft documents relating to your case are treated as 'sensitive waste' and are destroyed.

• When your child abuse compensation claim is over, we are obliged to retain our file for 6 years. After then it will be destroyed as 'sensitive waste'.

• We are happy to discuss any concerns you may have about confidentiality at the outset or as your child abuse compensation claim progresses.

If you think you may have a claim for child abuse compensation, please get in touch for free initial advice from sensitive professionals.