International Perspectives on Child Witnesses: An Introduction to the Issues

Professionals worldwide face many common problems in their attempts to c9,mbat child abuse. These problems include the need to deal judiciously with abuse allegations, especially claims of sexual violations against children: Shared problems raise shared questions: Can professionals validly assess children's credibility? How should children be interviewed? , What are the best ways to present children's evidencdn court? How can society safeguard defendants' rights while ensuring adequate child protec-tion? These problems are difficult, at best. Their solutions are important, however, because they are fundamental to assuring justice for both victimized children and innocent defendants. Although numerous problems are shared across soci~~ies, the legal traditions for approaching these problems vary considerably from one country to another., Differences in legal systems cODl~train solutions to Introduction 3 societal problems, such as child abuse, in important ways. For instance, in the United States, defendants' Sixth Amendment rights to confrontation require cross-examination of witnesses. The Sixth Amendment also assures that trials are open to the public, which results in children often testifying about personally traumatic events before an audience of strangers. In countries that do not honor such rights, greater. freedom to attempt procedural alternatives and to experiment with different approaches is possible. Cross-cultural differences also exist in the relative emphasis societies place on the problem ofchild abuse. In India, children are considered lucky to have a roof over their heads and any caretaker at all, regardless of whether the caretaker is less than kind. In contrast, spanking a child is illegal in Sweden. In America, society is currently focused on the issue of false reports, with occasional startling realizations of the destructiveness of actual abuse. It is dogma in the United States that it is better for 100 guilty people to go free than for one innocent person to be falsely incarcerated. Consistent with this view, the American legal system is geared to protect innocent defendants through, for ~xample, the presumption of innocence. Other countries differ, emphasizing more the common good and society's interests rather than personal freedom. It is important to understand how these differences are manifested in legal approaches, legal reforms, and scientific research. Many of the cultures represented in this book were highly influenced by the British legal system and, in fact, were English territories at one time United States). Nevertheless , each society has added its own local twists in attempts to protect children from abuse and from possible stress …