For victims of abuse, the road to remedy is a long and complex one. Redress schemes are a core component of the remediation process. However, individuals looking to access compensation from institutions and estates of perpetrators who have caused them harm can often find the process to be a complex and overwhelming one. Feeling disempowered or unable to have control of outcomes are experiences that run parallel to the abuse event(s) itself. This means the risk of re-traumatisation from engaging with redress schemes is likely.
The Risk in Getting It Wrong
Redress schemes are set up to provide remedies to victims and are common remediation channels for victims of abuse. However, the unintended consequences that can arise from a redress scheme, or any alternative forms of remedial action, which lacks empathy toward those impacted can have devastating consequences for claimants.
The litigation process can often be mistaken as being the only form of remedy for individuals seeking justice but for victims of trauma, this process can be just as traumatic as the abuse itself. This is because individuals are re-living these events and when engaging with redress schemes and any form of litigation, the process is all-encompassing for them.
Reputationally, this also has a detrimental impact on entities engaged in the litigation process, including counsel. Public scrutiny, accusations of legal negligence, and subsequent class actions are likely outcomes when redress schemes do not consider the claimants' position or apply the necessary duty of care protocols when engaging with victims of trauma.
The process itself should, therefore, act as a means of remedy instead of purely relying on the compensation outcome. When trauma-informed methods are applied, justice is more accessible and fairer, mitigating the risk of public scrutiny and further legal action.
Trauma-Informed Approaches To Redress
The design and deployment of redress schemes must consider the welfare of claimants throughout the course of the remediation process, including communications with claimants and support available. This is particularly important for redress schemes where victims have been subject to life-long trauma, either physical, psychological, or both. Expectations of claimants must also be managed appropriately, ensuring all outcomes are appropriately communicated to ensure informed decisions can be made by claimants. In our experience, we consider the following to be the best way to ensure a trauma-informed approach is applied.
- Victim-centred engagement: Recognising the impact of trauma on victims of abuse will help you tailor your approach to engaging with individuals without causing them further harm in the process. This means deploying safeguarding protocols across all forms of communications including access to psychological support, chaperones for meetings held, and ensuring language in written or digital communications is appropriate.
- Informed decision making: Victims of abuse will inherently feel disempowered based on the control exerted over them by perpetrators. When engaging in investigation and remediation processes, individuals can continue to feel out of control and are at risk of being re-traumatised as a consequence of engaging with the process. It is important for control to be transferred to claimants which can be accomplished by ensuring expectations are managed. This means communicating all possible outcomes available to the claimant, to empower them to make an informed decision.
- Effective communication: The entire claims process in redress schemes can often be lengthy. For individuals engaging with the process, the feeling of being out of control is a sensation also felt at the time of the abuse event(s). Holding statements and regular communications with individuals, even when there are limited updates can create a sense of empowerment for claimants. Implementing a robust communication strategy and establishing appropriate channels to engage with claimants can provide further efficiencies to the process.
- Expert support: Engaging a holistic team of experts in relevant fields such as human rights or personal injury law, psychology, quantum experts and technologists means you are equipped to design and implement a scheme that will meet the specific needs of claimants that is bespoke to the circumstances of the case. A combined team of experts working coherently as one team will help to guide how you should engage with victims of abuse, ensuring a fair and accurate compensation outcome, without causing further psychological harm to individuals in the process. This enables the litigation process to be more balanced, deploying duty of care to the claimant(s), whilst managing reputation and legal risk.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.