Sexual assault can have a life altering impact and can often make functioning day to day extremely difficult. Coming forward to find the support, legal advice and the compensation you deserve can often be very difficult. Our team is extremely experience in taking legal action for survivors and undergone training to ensure that all disclosures made by you are approached following the principles of the trauma informed approach and COSCA Counselling Skills. We put you at the forefront of decisions in your claim.
We are here to listen and provide advice, always in confidence. We act on a no win-no fee basis to make sure that pursuing legal reparation is not be a financial burden to you. We understand that sexual assaults can often be accompanied by verbal and physical harassment and bullying which increases in severity and frequency over time. Sexual assault can often happen only once or on several occasions. Assaults in a military setting can often involve feelings of disloyalty due to the unit structure and until bonding. This is often made even worse if the chain of command has not taken steps to protect you or tries to dismiss your disclosure. We know that you can often be in a vulnerable position with feelings of isolation at all military levels and ranks. We recognise and support all military ranks to secure compensation as a result of sexual assault whilst on or off duty.
The civil claim we take on your behalf for compensation is the main case that we advance on your behalf. A civil claim for damages can often be brought even if the civilian or military authorities have decided not to bring a criminal prosecution. This is because a criminal prosecution has to prove beyond reasonable doubt that a particular crime was committed. This is often a high hurdle to overcome. By pursuing a civil compensation claim, it just needs to be shown on the balance of probabilities that the sexual assault happened and injuries sustained as a result of the assault.
The impact of assault can have a ripple effect through all areas of your life. We take this in to account when pursing compensation. Sexual assault doesn’t often stop at physical injuries and can include professional and psychological losses and damage. Injuries suffered during, or after, an assault can lead to psychiatric injury, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression or adjustment disorder. This may have an impact on work and personal life whilst in the military and once you have left the forces.
A claim can also be brought with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (“CICA”) if the incident was reported to the civilian police. This can often be done alongside a personal injury compensation claim. A personal injury claim will have a higher compensation level than CICA.
After an assault, it is also possible to make a claim through the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme. It is important that claims are made in both the civil courts and through the AFCS.
There is generally a three-year time limit for personal injury claims, so you need to seek specialist advice as soon as possible.
It is extremely important to report sexual abuse to a senior officer, and make a service complaint within three months of the first incident. A criminal investigation into the incident should then begin. You can also choose to make a report to the civilian police authorities. Medical attention should also be sought as soon as possible following the assault. This allows evidence to be recovered and assist you in seeking criminal and civil sanctions.
If an incident is reported to the Chain of Command and not directly to the police, the military only has a duty to refer ‘very serious crimes’ to the civilian or military police, these crimes include rape, murder and assault. It is possible to bring a civil compensation claim against both the abuser and the Ministry of Defence, especially where the offender was acting in a position of trust and authority.
In general, the civilian and military police have the same rights to investigate and prosecute crimes. Usually, it is accepted that an assault in the military should be dealt with by the civilian criminal authorities, but there’s no obligation on the military authorities to hand over an investigation.
If the assault is committed abroad then the UK civilian authorities will not have authority to prosecute, but the military authorities do. The UK civilian authorities can liaise and work with the local authorities. This is less than straight forward area.
If you or a loved one has experienced sexual or other assault while serving in the military, reach out to Speir Buchan today. We are here to provide not only expert legal guidance but also an understanding of the physical, emotional, and financial challenges you face. Together, we will work towards securing the justice and compensation you deserve.
Reports which may be helpful to you are linked below and show how reporting and response to reporting has improved over the years. However, there still remains work to be done and improvements advanced.
The Army’s Sexual Harassment Report was released in 2021 and can be downloaded here
Royal Navy and Royal Marines was also completed in 2021 and can be downloaded here
