Criminal injuries compensation for abused children.

D iscretionary schemes to compensate the victims of violent crime have been in place in Great Britain since 1964. The original framework provided that compensation would be awarded on a ‘‘common law basis’’ whereby awards were assessed in exactly the same way as if being made by a court—that is, adhering to principles of restitution, seeking to put the victim back, so far as possible, into the same position that they would have enjoyed had the crime and the injury not occurred. Apart from compensation for the actual injuries, awards would therefore also include full and future care costs, provision of therapies, equipment, transport needs, special accommodation, loss of earnings, and future earnings. There was no limit on an award and each case would be assessed on its individual merits.