When someone has suffered abuse as a child, understandably, it can sometimes take them many years before they feel able to talk to someone about what happened to them, often when they're adults. When abuse happened many years ago, it's known as 'historic abuse'. It's also why the usual time limits for making a compensation claim doesn't always apply to abuse cases. However, it's best to speak to one of our specialist lawyers as soon as you feel able to talk.