Increase the maximum sentences for historical child abuse cases
Currently, we think the law fails survivors of historical child abuse We are calling for new maximum sentence that apply to historical child abuse cases prosecuted under the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 and the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
Signatures
61
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 61/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 61/100,000
- 16 MAR 2026Petition closedFinal total: 61 signatures
- 16 SEPT 2025Petition opened for signatures
Background
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 historic acts of cruelty against children may receive a shorter sentence
Similar offences would now carry a longer maximum sentence. We think survivors of historical abuse are denied this justice simply because their suffering occurred before the law caught up.