Domestic Abuse Injury Compensation (UK)
Understand how domestic abuse injury compensation is assessed under the CICA scheme, including repeated violence, police reporting, evidence, eligibility and time limits.
Domestic abuse can involve many forms of harmful behaviour within a current or former relationship or family setting. However, not every form of domestic abuse is automatically covered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
Where physical assaults or repeated violence cause injury, CICA may consider qualifying physical injuries and disabling mental injuries. Incidents may involve a current or former partner, a relative or another person within a domestic relationship.
Applications are generally assessed by considering how the incident or pattern of abuse occurred, whether it was reported to the police, the available medical evidence and whether the Scheme’s eligibility and injury-tariff requirements are met.
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Domestic abuse injury compensation applications can involve reviewing patterns of violence, police information, medical evidence and the injuries recognised under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
What domestic abuse injury compensation involves
A domestic abuse injury compensation application generally focuses on the violent incidents that occurred, the physical injuries or qualifying disabling mental injuries caused and whether the circumstances meet the requirements of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
Domestic abuse can involve a single serious assault or repeated physical violence over time. The wider relationship history may provide important context, but the assessment usually centres on qualifying injuries and incidents covered by the Scheme.
The assessment often focuses on:
- Who was responsible for the violence
- Whether there was one incident or repeated assaults
- When and where the incidents occurred
- The nature and severity of the injuries
- Whether the abuse was reported to the police
- What medical treatment or diagnosis was received
- The available police and medical evidence
- Whether the injuries fall within the Scheme tariff
Where several injuries form part of a pattern of abuse, they may be assessed by considering the overall pattern and the most serious injuries sustained. A single serious injury may instead be considered under its individual tariff category where this produces the higher applicable payment.
Domestic abuse can also include controlling, emotional or financial behaviour. However, those behaviours do not by themselves establish entitlement to an injury payment unless the relevant Scheme requirements are met.
Common domestic abuse injury scenarios
Situations involving domestic abuse-related injuries may include:
- Violence by a current or former partner
- Assaults by a family member
- Repeated physical attacks over time
- A single serious assault
- Violence continuing after separation
- Incidents causing physical injuries and disabling mental injuries
Types of domestic abuse injuries
Injuries arising from physical domestic abuse may include:
- Bruising, cuts and soft tissue injuries
- Broken bones or fractures
- Facial and dental injuries
- Head injuries, including concussion
- Burns or permanent scarring
- Internal injuries
- Qualifying disabling mental injuries
- Permanent disability
What can affect an application
Factors that may affect how an application is assessed include:
- Whether the incidents were reported to the police
- Any delay in reporting to the police
- The number and frequency of incidents
- The period over which the abuse occurred
- The type and severity of the injuries
- The available medical evidence
- Whether the injuries fall within the tariff
- Whether more than one injury was sustained
Common application issues
Issues that may arise in domestic abuse-related applications include:
- Incidents not reported when they occurred
- Limited records of earlier assaults
- Gaps in medical treatment
- Difficulty confirming incident dates
- Injuries developing over repeated incidents
- Limited police information while enquiries remain ongoing
- Injuries not meeting the Scheme tariff
- Applications affected by time-limit rules
Domestic abuse injury compensation applications can vary considerably depending on whether there was a single assault or a pattern of violence, the injuries sustained and the police and medical evidence available.
The duration and frequency of the violence, the injuries sustained and the available police and medical evidence can all influence how a domestic abuse-related application is assessed.
How domestic abuse injury compensation is assessed
Domestic abuse injury compensation is generally assessed by reviewing the violent incidents, the injuries sustained and whether the application meets the requirements of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
This may include:
- Information provided in the application
- Information obtained from the police and investigation records
- Details of individual or repeated incidents
- Medical evidence relating to the injuries
- The duration and effect of any symptoms
- Assessment of the injuries under the Scheme tariff
- Whether the applicant cooperated with the police and CICA
The person responsible does not have to be charged or convicted. An application may still be considered where the available evidence supports that a qualifying crime of violence occurred.
Further information may be requested where the incidents, injuries or supporting evidence require additional consideration.
Eligibility for domestic abuse injury compensation
Eligibility for domestic abuse injury compensation depends on whether the violent incidents and the applicant meet the requirements of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
Common eligibility considerations include:
- Whether a qualifying crime of violence occurred
- Whether the incidents happened in England, Scotland or Wales
- Whether the violence was reported to the police
- Any reasons for delayed reporting
- Compliance with the application time limits
- The applicant’s cooperation with the police and CICA
- Whether the injuries are recognised under the Scheme tariff
- The applicable residency or nationality requirements
Domestic abuse does not automatically result in compensation. The application must relate to qualifying violence or injuries covered by the Scheme.
CICA may also consider conduct, unspent criminal convictions and any failure to provide reasonable assistance during the assessment process.
Evidence commonly considered
CICA may consider information from several sources when assessing injuries arising from domestic abuse.
Common forms of evidence include:
- The police crime reference number
- Information obtained from the police and investigation records
- Statements describing the reported incidents
- Medical records from a GP or hospital
- Records of emergency treatment or surgery
- Evidence relating to repeated injuries
- Photographs of visible injuries where relevant
- Medical evidence of lasting symptoms or disability
- Psychiatric or clinical-psychology evidence where a disabling mental injury is claimed
- Information requested during the assessment
The evidence required for domestic abuse injury compensation will depend on the incidents and injuries being considered. Earlier assaults may be more difficult to assess where limited police or medical records remain available.
CICA may obtain information directly from the police and may request additional medical evidence before reaching a decision.
What outcomes may include
The outcome of a domestic abuse injury compensation application will depend on the evidence, the injuries sustained and whether the Scheme requirements have been met.
Possible outcomes include:
- A tariff award for one or more qualifying injuries
- Consideration of physical injuries and qualifying disabling mental injuries
- A request for further police or medical evidence
- Additional enquiries before a decision is made
- A reduced award in certain circumstances
- A decision that no award can be made
- A review where a decision is challenged
- An appeal where applicable
An injury payment is based on the categories and amounts contained within the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme tariff.
Any award will depend on the individual circumstances rather than the domestic relationship alone.
Time limits
Domestic abuse injury compensation applications should normally be made as soon as reasonably practicable. Where the applicant was aged 18 or over at the time of the incident, the usual CICA deadline is two years from the violent incident.
Where domestic abuse involved repeated incidents, the dates of the violence, when it was reported to the police and whether the injuries formed part of a pattern may all be relevant.
CICA may consider why the violence was not reported or why an application was not made earlier. Relevant circumstances can include the applicant’s age, capacity, wellbeing and whether the effects of the abuse meant it could not reasonably have been reported sooner.
An extension is not automatic. CICA must normally be satisfied that exceptional circumstances prevented an earlier application and that the supporting evidence allows the matter to be determined without extensive further enquiries.
Understanding how domestic abuse injury compensation is assessed can help clarify how violent incidents, supporting evidence, eligibility and time limits are considered under the CICA Scheme.
Patterns of violence, supporting evidence and the injuries sustained can all influence how domestic abuse-related injury applications are considered under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
Final notes
Domestic abuse injury compensation applications may involve a single violent incident or a pattern of physical violence occurring over time. CICA assessments generally focus on the qualifying incidents, the injuries caused and the supporting evidence available.
Physical injuries and qualifying disabling mental injuries may be considered where they meet the requirements of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme tariff.
Delayed reporting does not automatically prevent an application from being considered. CICA will generally examine the reasons for the delay and the wider circumstances surrounding the abuse.
Every application is considered individually. The relationship between the people involved does not by itself determine whether compensation will be awarded.
For a broader overview of related cases, visit the Criminal Injuries Compensation (CICA) (UK) page.
For official information about physical abuse tariff payments, including patterns of adult domestic abuse, refer to Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme – injury payments (official Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority guidance – opens an external website).
Further Guidance
Domestic abuse-related injury compensation forms one part of the wider Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, which covers qualifying physical and psychological injuries caused by violent crime. Other sections of the Scheme explain how compensation may be considered for injuries arising from different forms of violent offending.
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