Criminal Injuries (Compensation) (Northern Ireland) Order 1988

Compensation for certain consequences of rape and for bereavement

9.—(1) Compensation shall be payable by virtue of Article 3(2)(a)(v) only where—

(a) the victim has sustained a criminal injury directly attributable to rape;

(b) the victim has given birth to a child conceived as a result of the rape; and

(c) the victim intends to keep the child.

(2) Subject to paragraph (6), the amount payable as compensation by virtue of Article 3(2)(a)(v) shall be £5,000.

(3) Where the victim of a criminal injury dies as a result of the injury, compensation for bereavement shall only be payable by virtue of Article 3(3)(b) to—

(a) the spouse of the victim; or

(b) where the victim was a minor who was never married—

(i) his parents, if he was legitimate; and

(ii) his mother, if he was illegitimate.

(4) Where compensation for bereavement is payable by virtue of Article 3(3)(b) to both the parents of the victim, the sum payable shall be divided equally between them.

(5) Subject to paragraph (6), the amount payable as compensation for bereavement by virtue of Article 3(3)(b) shall be £3,500.

(6) The Secretary of State may reduce the amount of compensation which, but for this paragraph, would be payable to any person by virtue of Article 3(2)(a)(v) or 3(3)(b) by such amount as appears to the Secretary of State to be appropriate having regard to—

(a) any provocative or negligent behaviour of the victim which contributed, directly or indirectly, to the criminal injury; or

(b) any criminal convictions which are indicative of the character and way of life of the victim and, in the case of compensation for bereavement, of the character and way of life of the applicant.