10 Oct 2008

Pitcairn abuse victims to get compensation

5:59 am on 10 October 2008

The British goverment on Thursday announced details of a compensation scheme for victims of child sex abuse on Pitcairn Island.

At trials on the island in 2004 and in New Zealand in 2006, eight Pitcairn men were convicted of raping and sexually assaulting young girls. A ninth man pleaded guilty.

Foreign Office Minister Gillian Merron said the compensation amounts offered to those abused would be similiar to those offered in the United Kingdom.

The lawyer for some of the victims said that, under Britain's compensation scheme, rape victims are entitled to up to Stg 44,000.

Ms Merron said the Pitcairn Governor's office, based in Wellington, New Zealand, will assess each application.

She says this is a significant step and "the right thing to do."