Jurist UK terrorism survivors say compensation scheme is ‘broken’ and in need of reform

[Dadparvar]

A survey of terrorism survivors in the UK released Monday found that many survivors believe that the government’s terrorism compensation scheme is broken. In the survey, the advocacy group Survivors Against Terror found most respondents are unhappy with the Ministry of Justice’s Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).

The survey interviewed more than 130 survivors of 11 attacks. Those who responded to the survey were involved in attacks such as the Manchester Arena Bombings in 2017 and the Fishmongers’ Hall Stabbings in 2019, as well as the 7/7 London Bombings (2005); Bali Bombing (2002); Reading stabbings (2020); Hyde Park Bombing (1982); Mumbai Terror Attacks (2008); London Bridge Attack (2017); Paris Attacks (2015); and Sousse, Tunisia Attacks (2015).

The resulting findings include statistics that lay out survivors’ discontent with the CICA process, saying:

Sixty-eight percent felt that the process was unfair and unreasonable, only nine percent felt it was fair and reasonable. Similarly sixty-two percent did not feel treated with respect and empathy – compared to only seventeen percent who felt they were.

The report comments that “[t]hese are awful figures for an organisation tasked with helping survivors of terror attacks.”

Further, the report states that many survivors believed the requests for proof of physical or psychological inquiry were unreasonable.

Brendan Cox, founding member of Survivors Against Terror and husband of the MP Jo Cox who was murdered in her constituency in 2016 said in the report that:

CICA is broken. There can be no other conclusion from the data and the testimonies we have gathered. An organisation that is supposed to be helping survivors recover and rebuild is instead consistently doing them harm. If the organisation had poor processes and procedures but scored well on other areas, there would be hope for reform. There is not.

The report also outlines ten recommendations including improved transparency for how awards are calculated, a better approach to psychological injuries “to ensure that they are properly assessed and understood,” and the communication of reasonable expectations regarding timeframes for gathering evidence.

The survey’s release comes as the Government has drafted legislation under the draft Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, known as Martyn’s Law, sets which sets out the requirements that venues and other organisations will have to meet to ensure public safety. Security Minster Tom Tugendhat said of the bill that “the threat from terrorism is enduring. In recent years, we have seen terrorists target the public at a broad range of locations, causing deaths and casualties amongst innocent people going about their everyday lives.”

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