NCJ Number
143032
Date Published
1992
Length
168 pages
Annotation
This Denver study found that child sexual assault victims must cope not only with the emotional consequences of abuse but also with the potentially traumatizing effects of legal involvement associated with testifying in court.
Abstract
In examining the effects of criminal court testimony on 218 child sexual assault victims, the authors compared behavioral disturbances of a group of testifiers to a matched control group of nontestifiers at three points after testimony: 3 months, 7 months, and after prosecution ended. They found that testifiers at 7 months displayed greater behavioral disturbances than nontestifiers, especially if testifiers took the stand multiple times, were deprived of maternal support, and could not corroborate their claims. Once prosecution ended, adverse effects of testifying diminished. In courthouse interviews before and after testifying, the main fear expressed by children concerned having to face the defendant. Children who appeared more frightened of the defendant while testifying were less able to answer the prosecutor's questions; after the cases were closed, these children were more likely to say that testifying affected them adversely. The two most pervasive predictors of children's experiences in the courtroom were age and severity of abuse. Despite relevant laws, few innovative techniques were used to help the children testify. The findings are discussed in terms of children's ability to cope with stressful situations, interaction of the legal system with the child/family system, and the need to protect child victims who testify in criminal court.