Victims of Child Sexual Abuse Are Having Their Compensation Cut for Committing Crimes

Read: We Know Nothing About Child Abuse in This Country

According to the BBC, over 400 victims of child sex abuse have had their compensation reduced after going on to commit crimes later in life.

Between June 2014 and June 2015, half of the 27 cases in which compensation was reduced were for crimes relating to drink, drugs, or theft, with eight for violence against people.

The Ministry of Justice has said that an individual may have their compensation cut if they "have caused distress, loss, or injury to another person, and cost the taxpayer money through a police investigation or court proceedings.."

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, or CICA, is the arm of the Ministry set up to compensate those affected by sex abuse as children, or as adults with mental disabilities. It has awarded compensation to over 12,000 people since 2010.

A representative for those whose application for compensation gets rejected, Sheffield-based Odette Tovey, said: "The crimes committed against the victims far outweigh the crimes that these victims committed."

She added that the fact that the crimes could have been "a result of mental health problems developed because of the period of abuse they went through" should also be taken into consideration.

Without any deduction, victims could be awarded up to £27,000 [$42,000]—after deduction, that turns into a comparatively meagre £8,423 [$13,152].

There are no plans to review the system.