Controversial Issues With Child Interviews for Possible Sexual Abuse

Published: 2021-07-12
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Vanderbilt University
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Literature review
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Thesis: There are a lot of controversies related to the interviews that are held with the aim of getting evidence of a child who may have undergone child abuse, considering that there may be lack of clarity on how the victim gives out the information, or the lack of witnesses for the case.

Introduction

Thesis: There are a lot of controversies related to interviews that are held with the aim of getting evidence of a child who may have undergone child abuse, considering that there may be lack of clarity on how the victim gives out information, or the lack of witnesses for the case.

One vs. several interviews with the same person

Repeated interviews with the same person may lead to the revelation of newer information.

Children may tend not to open up more and more, especially when repeatedly asked on matter regarding child abuse.

Single vs. multiple interviewers

Disclosure of information may be dependent on the person the victim has identified.

Several interviewers may also make the child to be more conservative as they fear disclosing information related to the case.

conclusion

Thesis

Summary

Literature Review

Gathering child sexual abuse evidence may be one of the most difficult tasks that law enforcement officers can ever do, considering that it involves a lot of emotions when reminding them of what they may have passed through. According to Block et al., (2013), most professional recommend that the child is interviewed several times by the same interviewer, as they may be a point where the child may open up and give information that is very useful. In their study, Block et al., (2013) stated that the more a child goes through many interviews with the same person, the more it is likely that the sexual offender is found and prosecuted. In this case, the evidence involved may be very complex to the extent that it becomes difficult to make a concrete decision that depends on the available information. Therefore, forensic personnel need to be very careful when dealing with such an activity, as it may probably lead to the wrong or right decision (Block et al., 2013). More research on the same matter indicates that carrying out the interview in the same way severally may not yield much as expected, considering that the child may not want to continue going through the same experience over and over again.

Controversy when dealing with several interviews is related to the fact that the child is put through torture in the sense that they have to go through the same experience repeatedly as they answer the questions. According to a study conducted by Cronch et al., (2006), there are various techniques of interviewing that the child can undergo, with the aim of gathering information related to the incidence of abuse. One of the most controversial techniques is where the child is interviewed once by several interviewers. Controversy comes in the sense that interviewers have different techniques of carrying out an interview, and each may conduct the session according to how the know best. The techniques are the ones that bring in an issue as there are some who may apply reinforcement, where the child may give false information, especially when they have a promise of more punishment, or a reward (Cronch et al., 2006).

References

Block, S., Foster, E., Pierce, M., Berkoff, M., & Runyan, D. (2013). Multiple Forensic Interviews During Investigations of Child Sexual Abuse: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis. Applied Developmental Science, 17(4), 174-183. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2013.836033

Cronch, L., Viljoen, J., & Hansen, D. (2006). Forensic interviewing in child sexual abuse cases: Current techniques and future directions. Aggression And Violent Behavior, 11(3), 195-207. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2005.07.009

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