Two mothers are challenging the government in court over Universal Credit’s second-child benefit policy.
The two-child cap prevents parents from claiming the UC or child tax credits for a third child.
The unidentified women gave birth to two or more children involuntarily as teenagers and then gave birth to more children voluntarily later in life.
The involuntary conception exception (sometimes called the rape provision) allows for additional financial support to be provided to a mother of two children who then has more children as a result of the rape.
However, the women said this exemption did not easily apply to them because their first two children were born as a result of rape, while their third or more children were born in consensual relationships.
The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) is providing legal representation to the women and said the policy was “discriminatory and irrational”.
Claire Hall, the charity’s head of strategic litigation, said: “They should be able to get exemptions for children who were involuntarily conceived, regardless of when they were born.”
One of the women, known as LMN, took High Court action against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), ultimately winning benefits for her third child.
CPAG said: “She has not received this support for many years, amounting to thousands of pounds, and this will not be done retrospectively.”
The second woman – EFG – issued a statement through CPAG: “If I had been raped after the birth of my first two children, exceptions would apply”.
CPAG said both women had missed out on thousands of pounds of support due to current policies.
A DWP spokesman said: “We are unable to comment on ongoing legal cases”.
The High Court challenge is expected to take place next year.
The two-child limit took effect in April 2017 and was opposed by anti-poverty activists.
At the time, a spokesperson for the DWP said: “We have always been clear that this will be done in the most efficient and compassionate way, with appropriate exceptions and safeguards in place.”
The spokesman could not explain how an allegation would be verified when it is made by a woman who has never received support or told anyone about being raped.
In 2023, Sir Keir Starmer told the BBC that his Labor government would not change the second-child cap or spend extra money on benefits without first delivering economic growth.
In the past, campaigners have brought a legal challenge to the Supreme Court over the two-child limit, arguing it violated the human rights of parents and children – a case that was dismissed in 2021.
