Lay perceptions of child witnesses: effects of presentation of rapport building in forensic interviews

The present study concerned effects of interview style and victim age on perceptions of child victim/witnesses and defendant guilt. In 2 experiments, participants read written scenarios of child sexual abuse trials. The scenarios included a transcript of the child victim/ witness's forensic interview, in which questioning varied from less leading to highly leading. In Experiment 1, child age (4 years vs. 7 years) did not significantly influence guilt ratings, but mock jurors were less likely to convict the alleged perpetrator and less likely to rate the child as credible and reliable when testimony was elicited through a highly leading vs. an intermediately or less leading interview. The effect of interview style on guilt ratings replicated in Experiment 2 for a 4-year-old victim/witness but not a 7-year-old victim/witness. In both studies, women compared to men were more likely to convict the defendant and to believe the child. Implications for understanding jurors' reactions to child victim/witness testimony are discussed.

Based on extensive developmental science research, we discuss the general findings and themes for forensic interviewers to keep in mind when interviewing children about sexual abuse. Our review is divided into three separate sections: the interviewee (i.e., the child eyewitness), the interviewer, and the interview. In the interviewee section, we provide information on both general characteristics (child age, gender) as well as specific individual differences (psychopathology, maltreatment histories) that have been theoretically linked and empirically shown to influence children’s memory abilities and reporting. Next, in the interviewer section, we discuss such topics as rapport building and interviewer bias. We conclude with a discussion of factors within the interview that may influence a child’s report, such as interview instructions, question type, and use of interview props. It should be noted that the information provided in this chapter is not all inclusive of every factor that has been identified to influence children’s memories and eyewitness accounts for traumatic events. Rather this brief review covers some of the main areas of consensus from, and a number of caveats about, the child eyewitness field. We end with a brief list of factors that forensic interviewers might want to consider prior to interviewing a child about sexual abuse.

Disclosing the abuse: The effect of ethnoreligious identity on CSA disclosure in forensic interviews

Children's disclosures of sexual abuse: Learning from direct inquiry

Although there is plenty of literature on the consequences of child sexual abuse, little research has been conducted regarding the risk of secondary victimization when a child victim testifies as a witness throughout the preliminary proceeding to the police, as well as the hearing in the court room. Even today, the credibility of the testimony of a child witness is strongly questioned. Child witnesses are often treated with greater distrust than adult witnesses as, according to traditional views, they don't have the same observing and mnemonic ability, they are more vulnerable to leading questions and they have difficulty in distinguishing reality from fantasy as well as truth from lie. The whole of literature emphasizes the responsibility of the interviewer who will determine the course of the interview and have a significant effect upon the disclosure procedure. His personal characteristics as well as his specialized knowledge and counselling skills will play a major role. Studies have demonstrated that empathy, patience, calm, sensitivity and warmth on the part of the interviewer are instrumental in rapport building and effective communication with the child. These qualities play a crucial role in obtaining a credible testimony and, at the same time, protecting the child from the risk of secondary victimization. The referred case study displays the need for the application of appropriate forensic interview techniques, as well as for the participation, specifically, of a counselling psychologist, as opposed to any mental health professional.

Children's testimony often plays a central role in prosecutions of child sexual abuse. Nevertheless, research on jurors' perceptions of the credibility of child sexual assault victims remains limited. In three experiments, we examined mock jurors' reactions to children's testimony about sexual abuse. Participant jurors were exposed to videotaped or written scenarios of child sexual abuse trials and then rated victim credibility and defendant guilt. Analyses indicated that: (a) victim age was either inversely related or unrelated to perceptions of victim credibility, (b) women were more likely than men to find child victims credible, (c) corroborating testimony from a child victim increased the credibility of another child victim, and (d) exposure of participants to past criminal acts and other negative defendant character evidence heightened perceived victim credibility and defendant guilt. Implications for understanding jurors' reactions to child witnesses are discussed.

Impact of interviewers’ supportive comments and children's reluctance to cooperate during sexual abuse disclosure

Children are often the primary source of evidence in maltreatment cases, particularly cases of child sexual abuse, and may be asked to testify in court. Although best-practice protocols for interviewing children suggest that interviewers ask open-ended questions to elicit detailed responses from children, during in-court testimony, attorneys tend to rely on closed-ended questions that elicit simple (often "yes" or "no") responses (e.g., Andrews, Lamb, & Lyon, ; Klemfuss, Quas, & Lyon, ). How then are jurors making decisions about children's credibility and ultimately the case outcome? The present study examined the effect of two attorney-specific factors (e.g., temporal structure and questioning phase) on mock jurors' perceptions of attorney performance, child witness credibility, storyline clarity, and defendant guilt. Participants were randomly assigned to read a trial excerpt from one of eight conditions and were then asked to evaluate the attorney, child witness, and the case. Selected excerpts were from criminal court case transcripts and contained either high attorney temporal structure (e.g., use of temporal markers) or low temporal structure (e.g., frequent topic switching), involved direct or cross-examination, and represented cases resulting in a conviction or acquittal. Child responses were kept consistent across all excerpts. Results showed that participants perceived the attorney's performance and child's credibility more favorably and thought the storyline was clearer when attorneys provided high rather than low temporal structure and when the excerpt contained direct rather than cross-examination. Participants who read a direct rather than cross-examination excerpt were also more likely to think the defendant was guilty. The study highlights the impact of attorney questioning style on mock jurors' perceptions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

ABSTRACTBoth lay persons and professionals believe that the emotions displayed by a child witness during disclosure of sexual abuse are a factor of importance when judging the child's credibility. Unfortunately, not all children display emotions according to expectations, leading to misjudgments, and possible miscarriage of justice. In the present study, we examined how lay people's credibility judgments were influenced by a child's displayed emotions during the disclosure of sexual abuse. Participants (n = 119), viewed video recordings of a mock police interview of an 11-year-old child actor disclosing sexual abuse, displaying one of four emotional expressions (angry, sad, neutral, and positive). Results showed that participants were strongly influenced by the emotions displayed; in particular, the display of strong negative emotions (anger) or positive emotions during disclosure significantly reduced judged credibility. The credibility ratings predicted the participantś judgments of the defendant's guilt and the willingness to pass a guilty vote in a hypothetical trial.

Children today are frequently subjected to abuse. Among these, sexual abuse is the type of abuse that affects children most negatively. Since sexual abuse usually takes place out of sight and in an environment where no one is around, there are no eyewitnesses other than the child victim and the perpetrator of the incident. This situation increases the importance of children’s statements in the investigation of abuse. In Turkey, especially as of 2010, important steps have been taken regarding forensic interviews with child victims of sexual abuse. Child Monitoring Centers opened within the Ministry of Health as of 2012 and Forensic Interview Rooms opened within the Ministry of Justice as of 2017 attract attention as very important centers for forensic interviews with child victims.Children who are victims of sexual abuse are often reluctant to tell about the abuse they have experienced to someone they have not met before. In this regard, persuading children to be interviewed and obtaining detailed and valid information from the child depends on the knowledge level and skills of forensic interviewers. Forensic interviewers play very important roles in protecting children within the judicial system and catching perpetrators.

The use of therapy animals during forensic interviews for child sexual abuse allegations is a recommendation by the Therapy Animals Supporting Kids Program to help ease children’s discomfort during the forensic interview process. Based on this recommendation, this study incorporated a certified therapy canine into the forensic interview process for child sexual abuse allegations. This study investigated changes in salivary cortisol, immunoglobulin A, blood pressure, and heart rate as a result of forensic interview phenomenon (e.g., outcry) incorporating animal-assisted intervention versus a control condition in children (N = 42) interviewed for alleged child sexual abuse. The results supported significantly greater heart rate values for the control group (n = 23) who experienced sexual contact and/or indecency than the experience of aggravated sexual assault compared to no difference in HR for the intervention group (n = 19). The results suggest that the presence of the canine in the forensic interview may have acted as a buffer or safeguard for the children when disclosing details of sexual abuse. In the intervention group, children’s HR was lower at the start of the forensic interview compared to the control group. Finding an effect of having a certified handler–canine team available during the forensic interview on physiological measures of stress has real-world value for children, child welfare personnel, and clinical therapists. It is suggested that animal-assisted intervention be expanded to children facing other types of trauma and to treatment programs for child survivors of sexual abuse.

In cases of child sexual abuse, sometimes the only evidence may be the statement of the victim child. It is only recent phenomenon in Turkey that forensic interviews with child victims of sexual abuse prioritize the child victims and they are administered in a careful and delicate way that would not cause secondary traumatization, and they are conducted by professionals educated. Child advocacy centers and forensic interview rooms are formations where forensic interviews are conducted with children who are victims of sexual abuse. In this article, credibility of forensic interviews conducted with sexually abused child victims are covered on the basis of practices in child advocacy centers. From this point of view, the place of child abuse in Turkish law, institutional practices on this issue and the importance of coordination among institutions are mentioned. Subsequently, the importance of forensic interview for the investigation conducted with the child is explained, and basis components of the forensic interview process are listed. Afterwards, the characteristics of widely used protocols for forensic interviews in the world are mentioned and the credibility of victim’s statement effect and elements affecting the trustworthiness are touched upon. Last, the failures experienced in the system which includes forensic interviews in Turkey and suggestions to remedy these are assessed. Forensic interview should be done within the framework of a joint meeting protocol, increasing the frequency of forensic interviewer supervision training and making it compulsory, public prosecutor, judge, law enforcement officer and professionals working in the child protection system should also participate in the training of forensic interview with the child and consideration of all factors in the credibility evaluation of the forensic interview has been the suggestions conveyed in the light of the relevant literature.

Children's perceived emotional behavior at disclosure and prosecutors’ evaluations

This qualitative study examines the perspectives of forensic interviewers on the education of individuals with a disability who have been exposed to sexual abuse and violence. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 25 forensic interviewees in six provinces in Turkey. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. Thematic analysis results revealed four themes: types of disabilities of individuals subjected to sexual violence and abuse; family; education and sexual violence and abuse; and the effect of difficulties in self-expression during the forensic interview process. The findings emphasise the necessity for tailored, visually supported education aligned with developmental stages to prevent sexual violence. The inclusion of parents in these sexual education sessions could prove to be effective in preventing the onset of sexual abuse perpetrated against individuals with a disability. The insights provided by forensic interviewers underscore the importance of an interdisciplinary approach in developing and implementing sexual education programmes, aiming to address deficiencies in current sexual education frameworks. Personal safety and sexual education could be useful in preventing negative incidents that individuals with a disability may encounter at every stage of their lives. PRACTICE IMPACT STATEMENT Our results highlight the critical importance of customised sexual education programmes for reducing the vulnerability of individuals with a disability to sexual violence and abuse. It addresses the role of identifying practical measures to address the risks associated with these individuals, promoting parental involvement, and raising awareness in the community. Interdisciplinary collaboration across various fields, such as health care, psychology, and law, and the development of inclusive sexual education initiatives, may be important for protecting the rights and well-being of individuals with a disability and their families.

A comprehensive review of the use of anatomical dolls reveals three areas of research: (1) normative studies (with no known history of sexual abuse) of children's interactions with anatomical dolls; (2) comparative studies of children suspected of being victims of sexual abuse, and those believed not to be; and (3) the role anatomical dolls play in the identification of a child who has been sexually abused. The results of empirical studies in each area are mixed and inconsistent. However, there is general clinical support for the use of the anatomical doll as a demonstration aid during forensic interviewing with children over 3 years of age.