Outrage over plan to cap abuse claims Kept sexual abuse secret: Roslyn Parker. Nobody knew why Roslyn Parker was nicknamed "Matches" until 2009, when she revealed she had been raped 50 years earlier at the age of nine. After the sexual abuse started, Roslyn ran away from home and would scream if anyone got too close to her. She was called "Matches" because she would "light up" so quickly. Victims groups are so outraged by the changes that they have complained to the United Nations. Roslyn (not her real name) hadn't told a soul until her 36-year-old daughter, "Jan" , disclosed she too had been sexually abused, when she was six. Keeping these secrets for so long means neither mother nor daughter will be eligible for any compensation under the new Victims Rights and Support Bill, which will likely be passed by NSW Parliament this week. Under the proposed law, an application for compensation must be made within 10 years of the sexual abuse. If the victim was a child, he or she has 10 years from the time they turn 18 to lodge a claim. They say many victims of child sexual abuse take decades to report a crime. The laws will also be enacted retrospectively, affecting people like Roslyn, who lodged a claim in 2010. Community Legal Centres NSW chairwoman Anna Cody said the law will disadvantage thousands of victims who have already lodged claims and make it harder for others in future. Since the introduction of the bill this month, funds have been frozen and the Victims Services unit has come to a standstill. Visitors to its website are told that until the legislation is passed, it is "unable to accept or process any new applications for financial assistance or accept any new applications for compensation." Explaining why she and her mother took so long to divulge they had been abused, Jan said: "Childhood sexual abuse causes shame, loss of self-esteem and a sense of powerlessness." After Roslyn found the courage to contact police in 2009, her uncle was charged and pleaded guilty. He received a suspended sentence. "Even though he impacted so many lives, he was able to walk free," Jan said. The small amount of money that is offered to victims is not about the monetary value, it's about acknowledgement. It enables the victim to regain a sense of power that was stolen from them as a child.