Experiencing trauma in your childhood can alter your life path dramatically. It’s especially challenging to overcome a trauma when nobody is held accountable for what happened to you or if you feel unheard by others. Choosing to pursue a criminal charge isn’t easy and there are a lot of challenges you may face if you want to take this route. At AJB Stevens, we understand the law and as specialists in historical sexual abuse, we can walk you through the process and help you understand the next steps.
Key Challenges in Prosecution
If you choose to pursue a criminal proceeding, there are many challenges you’ll face, and though family sexual abuse lawyers help, you need to know the reality of the situation.
Statutes of Limitations
There’s a good chance that the statute of limitations has expired. Most states have strict limits and that makes it difficult to pursue the criminal avenue when pursuing justice for childhood sexual abuse cases.
While these statutes are frequently the subject of political conversation, there is a lot of resistance to making changes. New South Wales removed the statute for civil cases in 2016, so that’s often the only available route for victim-survivors, outside of the sexual abuse compensation scheme.
Gathering Evidence
One of the reasons for this resistance is the evidence-gathering step. Evidence is key to building a criminal case and unfortunately, in many child sexual abuse claims, there is no evidence to find. Memories are unreliable, many years after the fact and many witnesses may have passed or be unwilling to speak. By this point, forensic evidence is also unlikely.
The Trauma of Reliving the Abuse
In the pursuit of justice, it’s easy to forget how traumatic reliving the abuse can be for victim-survivors. While you deserve justice, you may experience significant emotional distress recounting your sexual abuse claims in a formal setting. It can be re-traumatising and this can be a setback for many victim-survivors still working through the mental health challenges related to their abuse.
Perceptions of the Accused
Abusers work hard to groom their victims and the people around them, which is why so many ingratiate themselves with the wider community. If the perpetrator is well-respected, it can be difficult to be heard above their “stellar” reputation.
Media coverage and public opinion also influence how the case is perceived; while that isn’t fair, it is the reality victim-survivors face when choosing to make their allegations public. While the perpetrator can rely on their reputation to protect them against allegations, the victim-survivor often has theirs torn down or questioned.
Legal and Procedural Hurdles
Every criminal court case has evidentiary standards and unfortunately, those standards hinder prosecuting these cases because there is generally little physical evidence to support historical accusations.
With a high standard of proof and the burden lying with the prosecution, it’s achingly difficult to make a successful plea.
The Importance of Pursuing Justice
As experienced sexual abuse lawyers, AJB Stevens knows the importance of pursuing justice. You deserve to be heard, and you deserve recourse. We might not be able to force a prosecution, but we can help you pursue justice.
Whether you’re seeking closure from the abuse you experienced or trying to ensure nobody else falls victim to your abuser, we can help you take those steps.
Key Strategies for Successful Prosecution
If a criminal case is possible, there are several necessary steps to ensure successful prosecution. And building that case starts with your legal representation, because a reliable, reputable lawyer will help you gather the evidence to show that a criminal prosecution is possible.
Start by choosing an experienced law firm with familiarity in advocating for victim-survivors.
There also needs to be solid coordination between law enforcement and the prosecution, this can be strengthened by choosing the right law firm to represent you.
With enough evidence, investigators can be pushed into widening their efforts and when investigators start looking into accusations seriously, it often leads to additional victim-survivors coming forward.
The key to a successful prosecution is strong evidence and the only way that can happen is with meticulous investigation and witnesses. Whether those witnesses can speak to the abuse because of proximity, or they are experts like psychologists, they add weight to a case.
If you don’t have enough evidence to force prosecution, your lawyers can still pursue a civil claim and that’s not nothing.
How AJB Stevens Can Help
Ultimately, prosecuting a historical child sexual abuse case is complex; though, it isn’t possible in every case, an experienced lawyer will help you understand the process and decide whether pursuing a criminal case is the right decision. If you don’t have the evidence required to pursue that path, they will walk you through your options.
The Royal Commission has provided a redress scheme for victims to receive some form of justice, in the form of monetary compensation, or an apology from the institution responsible for the abuse, and a lawyer can help you fill out the paperwork to ensure you receive what you’re due. The system isn’t perfect, but the more we fight for victim-survivors, the more change is likely.
Do you need qualified sexual abuse lawyers in Sydney? As experts in the ins and outs of the Royal Commission sexual abuse, we can help you complete your NRS application or advise you on your options for pursuing a civil (or criminal) case. We’re here to fight for you and ensure you get the justice you deserve so you can move forward in healing. Get in touch with us today to discuss your case.
