Manchester victims of abuse to receive compensation

Child abuse cases have appeared in family and criminal courts for decades although prior to the 1990’s these tended to centre on individual abusers.  However society only became aware of the wide-scale extent of the problem following the police investigations that began in the 1990’s into care homes and schools. The police investigations were followed by compensation claims brought against the local authorities and other organizations charged with the care of children. Christian Wolmar’s book “Forgotten Children” estimated in 2000 that there were as many as 15,000 potential claimants in the United Kingdom. The criminal and civil cases have attracted huge media interest as they proceeded through the courts. Other cases involving the abuse of children outside of institutions have also come to light, for instance the convictions of Catholic priests and the prosecutions of celebrities such as Gary Glitter, Jonathan King and Christopher Langham.