TY - JOUR
T1 - “The Child Needs to Tell it to Me in Words”
T2 - Barriers and Facilitators to Witness Competencies in Child Sexual Abuse Trials
AU - Ramaswamy, Sheila
AU - Devgun, Meetali
AU - Seshadri, Shekhar
AU - Bunders-Aelen, Joske
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Sheila Ramaswamy et al., 2023.
PY - 2023/6
Y1 - 2023/6
N2 - Much research on child witnesses in child sexual abuse trials is focused on children’s performance in legal proceedings. Witness competency, that is predicated on the adversarial justice system’s principle of orality, is core to child witness testimony, and is determined at the pre-trial stage. However, this article highlights the need to consider child witness competency as a dynamic concept, that varies in response to the ecologies of the trial processes as they unfold. Set in a low-middle-income country, this qualitative study describes and analyzes trial processes through a child-inclusive lens, identifying barriers and facilitators to child witness competency. The results were mixed, yielding three major conclusions for consideration: (i) the importance attributed to physical infrastructure, and the creation of vulnerable deposition rooms; (ii) the role of judicial discretion in issues of child witness competency and (iii) role of intermediaries, with regard to enhancing child witness competencies.
AB - Much research on child witnesses in child sexual abuse trials is focused on children’s performance in legal proceedings. Witness competency, that is predicated on the adversarial justice system’s principle of orality, is core to child witness testimony, and is determined at the pre-trial stage. However, this article highlights the need to consider child witness competency as a dynamic concept, that varies in response to the ecologies of the trial processes as they unfold. Set in a low-middle-income country, this qualitative study describes and analyzes trial processes through a child-inclusive lens, identifying barriers and facilitators to child witness competency. The results were mixed, yielding three major conclusions for consideration: (i) the importance attributed to physical infrastructure, and the creation of vulnerable deposition rooms; (ii) the role of judicial discretion in issues of child witness competency and (iii) role of intermediaries, with regard to enhancing child witness competencies.
KW - child sexual abuse
KW - child witness competency
KW - child-inclusivity
KW - trial court processes
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85165032180&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1163/15718182-31020004
DO - 10.1163/15718182-31020004
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85165032180
SN - 0927-5568
VL - 31
SP - 403
EP - 443
JO - International Journal of Children's Rights
JF - International Journal of Children's Rights
IS - 2
ER -