Mental health articles

Legal proceedings in child sexual abuse Few sexually abused children appear in court as witnesses. For example, Martone, Jaudes, and Cavins (1996) found that only 7% of sexually abused children had to testify in court. Even though the number of children testifying in court is low, professionals have been concerned that the process of testifying and interfacing with the court is stressful. Indeed, this appears to be the case, as Saywitz (1989) found that approximately half of families reported that testifying at probable cause hearings and trials was too stressful. Runyan et al. (1988) also found that children involved in the criminal court process had greater distress, depression, and anxiety than those not involved in criminal court. Further, in a review of literature on the impact of court, Lipovsky (1994) concluded that many children found the court process distressing. Some studies suggest that children involved in legal proceedings may remain symptomatic for long periods of time, although others disagree. In one study that compared sexually abused children who testified in criminal court to a matched control group of those who did not testify, children seven months after testifying had greater behavioral disturbances than nontestifiers (Goodman et al., 1992). Berliner and Conte (1995) also found that by both children’s and parents’ reports, having to go to court or having to talk with a prosecutor predicted more adverse outcome an average of 3.5 years after the abuse. Conversely, Lipovsky’s (1994) review of the literature concluded that effects were not long-lasting and improved over time, although the pace at which the effects improved might be slower than for abused children who do not testify. Several factors may be related to the distress children experience. King et al. (1988) found that children were subjected to processes traditionally viewed as stressful to victims, such as confrontation with the perpetrator, aggressive crossexamination, and failure to provide a supportive atmosphere. Conversely, Runyan et al. (1988) found that juvenile court settings were less difficult for children and the experience was even positive in some cases. Other factors are related to a decrease in stress over time, including greater maternal support, testifying fewer times, having a parent or loved one in the courtroom, and closing the courtroom to spectators (Goodman et al., 1992; Lipovsky, 1994). Tentative conclusions can be drawn from these studies. Probably the conclusion of most importance is that criminal court involvement is stressful for at least a subgroup of victims. As Schwartz-Kenney et al. (1990) conclude, "The majority of literature supports the theory that the legal system as it currently exists is more likely, on average, to further exacerbate children’s overall distress" (p. 307). On the other hand, some children may benefit from the legal proceedings, especially if they are conducted in juvenile court, perhaps because they have an opportunity to assert themselves and to feel a sense of self-efficacy and empowerment. Many recommendations for how to reduce the stress experienced by children have been made, including reducing the number of interviewers and the children’s courtroom exposure, possibly by videotaping (Schwartz-Kenney et al., 1990; Tedesco & Schnell, 1987). Indeed, Henry (1999) found that children whose interviews were taped experienced fewer interviews and testified less frequently than children whose interviews were not taped. Other suggestions for reducing stress are to educate attorneys and judges, prepare and support child victims and families, expedite cases, and to use courtroom orientations and victim advocates (King et al., 1988; Lipovsky & Stern, 1997; Schwartz-Kenney et al., 1990). At least one study has now assessed the frequency with which special techniques are introduced in court to minimize stress on children. This survey of 227 state trial court judges found that, of 22 approaches listed, seven were used by half of the judges and 12 were used by at least a third of the judges (Hafemeister, 1996). Further, all were rated by at least half of the judges to be effective. No more than 40% of judges considered any technique unfair, though most items were scored by less than 20% of judges as being unfair. The simpler techniques, which could be instituted easily with available resources, tended to be used more widely and to be considered more effective and fairer. These techniques included: posing questions at the child’s comprehension level, excluding the public during testimony, allowing an expert consultant, modifying the court schedule to meet the child’s needs, and allowing the child to testify via a dialogue or monologue. Finally, judges who had attended educational programs (and most had) were most likely to institute these techniques. These findings suggest that most judges are aware of special issues associated with child witnesses, have attended specialized trainings, and are implementing stress-reduction techniques that are both fair and effective.

Tags: sexual abuse