Vital voices : children giving evidence in court after experiencing sexual abuse : the secondary trauma

Abstract

This dissertation aims to appraise the effects of giving evidence on those children who have been victims of sexual abuse and have had to go through court to give their testimony. It seeks to gather information from professionals as to what these vulnerable victims experience as they come in contact with the Maltese legal system. The data was gathered through interviews with social workers and psychological officers, a psychologist, a magistrate and a lawyer. All the professionals agreed that giving evidence in court is a stressful experience for the children and emphasis was made on the importance that these children have proper court preparation. Video recorded interviews were highly recommended by most professionals and there was a general agreement that, if such interviews are introduced in Malta, the Maltese legal system would have made great advances in ameliorating the children's experience in court. Support persons were also mentioned by every professional as being highly significant to these vulnerable witnesses who, at the moment of tension and stress, would benefit from having somebody to support them and accompany them through the experience. Through this study, several innovations within the Maltese context have been acknowledged and several challenges have been highlighted as being beneficiary to these vital voices who are being introduced to an adult system, for the sake of justice being done.