Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Rejected
Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme's offence list outdated, excludes online harms
Recommendation
The list of offences that are within scope of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme is out of date. Crimes perpetrated online, such as non-consensual intimate image abuse, can be just as damaging to a person as those involving physical violence. They can have a catastrophic impact on a person’s mental health. It is essential that victims of such crimes are able to access compensation. (Conclusion, Paragraph 25)
Government Response Summary
The government rejects the recommendation to expand the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme to include online offences like NCII, stating it would fundamentally alter the scheme's purpose and that its current scope is broad enough for some online exploitation cases involving violence.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
Reject We have carefully considered potential changes to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme’s scope, including the views of respondents to consultations undertaken by the previous Government. Our conclusion is that we will maintain the current scope of the Scheme. Our decision was explained in the Government response to two of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme consultations, published on 9 April 2025. To include online sexual offending and NCII would fundamentally alter the purpose of the Scheme, which is to provide a last resort compensation option for victims who suffer injury from crimes of violence. Our view is that the current scope of the Scheme is broad enough to allow for a wide range of circumstances, including, in certain cases, online exploitation and grooming, where situations have escalated into ones involving violence or the immediate threat of violence.