Survivor hub › Your options
Your options
There is more than one route to acknowledgement, support or compensation after abuse, and you don’t have to choose any of them. Each guide explains one route in plain English, at your own pace.
Compensation and other routes after abuse
Criminal injuries compensation
The government scheme for people harmed by a violent crime in England, Wales or Scotland: who can apply, the time limits, and how applying works. Northern Ireland has its own scheme.
Read the guide →Civil claims
What a civil claim for compensation is, the time limits, and how to get advice.
Read the guide →Redress schemes
Which redress schemes exist, who each one is for, and whether it’s open.
Read the guide →The criminal process
Getting help, reporting to the police, your rights as a victim, and going to court.
Read the guide →Words you might come across
Plain-English meanings of the legal and medical terms used in claims and schemes.
See the meanings →Not sure where to start?
You don’t need to decide anything now. If you’d like to talk things through first, the organisations in our Support Directory offer support, whatever you decide.
If you’re still making sense of what happened, Understanding abuse is a gentle place to start.
These guides give information, not legal or medical advice.
If you were harmed by a violent crime, the compensation guide explains the government scheme and how to apply.
Read the compensation guide