Woman challenges refusal of compensation after rape by father

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

An unnamed woman is challenging the refusal of compensation after her father raped and sexually abused her as a child, in a High Court case reported on 24 October 2023. The abuse took place between 1995 and 2002, when she was aged 11 to 18.

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal refused her claim under a scheme rule that excluded victims who lived with the offender when injured; the rule was removed in 2021. The tribunal’s appeal panel upheld the refusal.

She says the exclusion breaches her rights and is seeking to have the decision quashed, as well as declarations concerning the scheme’s compatibility with EU law, the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. Ms Justice Niamh Hyland granted permission for the judicial review, and the case was due back before the courts in December.