Currently, the law fails survivors of historical child abuse. This is not acceptable.

We are calling for urgent reform to the sentencing guidelines that apply to historical child abuse cases prosecuted under the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, the Sentencing Council, and the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.

Under current legislation, courts must sentence offenders based on the guidelines that were in place at the time the abuse occurred, not the standards we hold today. This means that individuals who committed horrific acts of cruelty against children before 2005 can only receive a maximum sentence of 2 years, even when their crimes involved: 

•         Prolonged and repeated abuse

•         Sadistic or degrading treatment

•         Use of weapons or significant force

•         Deliberate disregard for a child’s welfare

•         Failure to protect a child from known harm

Today, the same offences would carry a maximum sentence of 14 years, a reflection of our evolved understanding of the lifelong trauma caused by child abuse. Yet survivors of historical abuse are denied this justice simply because their suffering occurred before the law caught up.

We are demanding that the law be amended so that sentencing reflects the seriousness of the crime, not the era in which it was committed. The pain, fear, and psychological damage inflicted on a child does not diminish with time, and neither should the accountability of the perpetrator.

By signing this petition, you are standing with survivors. You are saying that justice delayed should not be justice denied. You are calling on the Government to treat all child abuse, past or present, with the gravity it deserves.