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To fight child sexual abuse, England and Wales must match ambition with investments
Brave Movement
London, 26 May 2026 – England and Wales removed the time limit on civil claims for childhood sexual abuse – following Royal Assent of the Crime and Policing Act on 29 April – at a time when support service funding is cut and Rape Crisis Centres are forced to close.
This landmark change to statutes of limitations implements a key recommendation of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), whose seven-year investigation heard testimony from thousands of survivors and found that existing time limits were among the most significant barriers to justice they faced. The previous regime forced survivors to act within three years of turning 18 – a timeframe in which most individuals are not ready to disclose. England and Wales, thereby joining Scotland, which abolished the civil time bar for childhood abuse in 2017, in ending statutory time limits for these cases.
However, this advancement comes as funding available for victim services across England and Wales has been cut by 4.2% since December 2024, and funding settlement for domestic abuse and sexual violence victim services was frozen at 2024-25 levels. In the space of twelve months, three Rape Crisis Centres were forced to close due to lack of funding, and more than 14,000 survivors of sexual violence were left on waiting lists for specialist support. Moreover, the £550 million package announced in December 2025 doesn’t fully reverse previous cuts or overcome the impact of increased national insurance contributions.
Brave Movement spokesperson, Matthew McVarish: “The Crime and Policing Act finally delivers something survivors in England and Wales have fought for for years: the legal recognition that the harm of childhood sexual abuse does not expire, and neither should the right to seek justice for it. We welcome this historic step and call on the Government to ensure it is matched by adequate investment in the specialist support services that help enable survivors to find the strength to come forward.”
