LEARNING FROM CHILD COMPLAINANTS OF SEXUAL ABUSE AND THEIR PRIMARY CARERS: IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY AND PRACTICE.

• Author: Davies, Emma
• Position: Statistical Data Included

INTRODUCTION

This paper arises from a three-year research project on child sexual abuse investigation and criminal justice processes in the Auckland region(1) (Davies 1999). The research involved interviews with the child complainants and their primary carers on their perceptions of the professionals involved once a child alleges sexual abuse. These professionals include Children, Young Persons and Families Agency (CYPFA) social workers, police officers, DSAC paediatricians, lawyers and other agents of the criminal court. Although the research also involved analyses of criminal court transcripts of the ways that children were questioned by evidential interviewers and lawyers in court, the methodologies and subsequent data are not be reported here as they are available elsewhere (see Davies et al. 1997, Davies and Seymour 1998). In this paper, the investigation process and the methodology of the research eliciting children's and primary carers' perceptions of the process are outlined, and the key findings summarised in relation to the international literature, government policies and practice. These findings are put into a political context, raising some suggestions for ways to advance child sexual abuse investigation and criminal court proceedings in the future. The authors show ways that practice often fell short of policy standards and offer suggestions of ways to improve intra-agency communication and inter-agency collaboration.

THE CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE INVESTIGATION PROCESS

The investigation process starts with notification to CYPFA or the New Zealand Police. In either situation, the other agency is automatically informed (NZCYPS and Police 1996: 5-65). CYPFA social workers are usually the first to make direct contact with a family. If a child discloses something that indicates s/he may have been sexually abused, the social worker will refer the child to an Evidential Video Unit. At these units, which are jointly operated by CYPFA and the Police, standardised, videotaped interviews are conducted by evidential interviewers for care and protection reasons and for potential evidential use in criminal court proceedings. A medical examination by a specialist paediatrician is recommended in all cases of alleged sexual abuse involving genital contact.

After an evidential interview is conducted, the social worker will advise children who have alleged sexual abuse and their families of counselling services (NZCYPS and Police 1996). Counselling services are usually financed through ACC, unless the child is under the guardianship of the Director-General of Social Welfare when counselling may be financed by CYPFA. In some complex cases, the child and family will be offered therapy through CYPFA Specialist Services. Some children and their families in Auckland will be offered counselling funded under the Health Funding Authority. Once the immediate safety of the child is established, the evidential interview and medical examination are completed, and counselling services available to the child and family have been discussed, the social worker will usually cease their active involvement with the family.

The Police will usually start a criminal investigation, to determine whether or not to prosecute the alleged offender, after they receive the videotaped interview of the child. If they do decide to prosecute, the case will go through pre-trial hearings to determine whether the Court perceives there to be enough evidence to proceed. Presuming the Police show sufficient evidence, the case will ultimately go to a jury trial (if the accused maintains innocence) or straight to sentencing (if the accused pleads guilty in court). Some cases go through a combination of the two, with perpetrators entering a late guilty plea.

SAMPLE AND METHODOLOGY

Participants and Interview Procedure

Interviews were conducted with 51 children aged 6-16 years and 124 primary carers (usually mothers) in cases where the children had made clear allegations of sexual abuse. Interviews were also conducted with 58 social workers and 85 police officers that were involved in the cases (see Table 1).

Table 1 Numbers of Interviews Conducted Timing Interviewees Children Primary carers Phase 1 22 39 Phase 2 29 64 Phase 1 & Phase 2 0 21 Total 51 124 Social Workers Police officers Phase 1 42 10 Phase 2 12 69 Phase 1 & Phase 2 4 6 Total 58 85 Children and their primary carers entered the study at either of two points in time. These points in time are described as Phases. Phase 1 is within one month of an evidential interview (early in the investigation process) and Phase 2 is after the police closed the file (at the end of the investigation process and any criminal court proceedings).

Phase 1 -- within one month of an evidential interview. Evidential Interviewers invited client participation after an evidential interview, seeking permission from the primary carers to be contacted by an interviewer of their choice (Pakeha, Maori or Samoan). The interviewers sought informed written consent from primary carers and informed assent from children.

Phase 2 -- after the police closed the file. The police officers invited client participation after they closed each file (whether or not the cases went to court). The police officers sought permission from the primary carers to be contacted by an interviewer in the same way as above. In addition, as the project proceeded, two counsellors and six mothers of allegedly abused children referred families or themselves to participate in the project.

The interviews with children and primary carers usually took place in the participants' home. Occasionally, at participants' request, they took place in an interview room at the University of Auckland. The interviews with social workers and police officers took place by telephone. The majority of Pakeha participants were interviewed by the senior author (E.D.), the majority of Maori participants by a Maori woman, and Pacific Islands participants by a Samoan woman.

Interview Schedules

The semi-structured interview schedules for children and their primary carers included sections on their experiences of CYPFA social workers, evidential interviewers, police officers, paediatricians conducting forensic medical examinations, access to counselling services, criminal court proceedings (including any contact with prosecutors) and the overall process (see Davies 1999 for interview schedules).

The interviews with social workers and police officers provided basic information about each case including duration and nature of the alleged abuse and the relationship between the child and the alleged perpetrator. Interviews with primary carers took an average of 1.5 hours, and interviews with children lasted an average of 30 minutes. Interviews with police officers and social workers took approximately 15 minutes.

Frequencies and percentages were calculated for the quantitative data derived from closed questions. Non-parametric tests were conducted to explore possible relationships between variables. An alpha level of 0.05 was used for all statistical tests. Interviews with children and their primary carers were transcribed and subjected to a content analysis.

Characteristics of the Sample

This study involved 124 families. There were three child complainants of sexual abuse within one family, two complainants within 19 of the families and one complainant within 103 of the families. Table 1 shows the number of interviews conducted. Twenty-one primary carers were interviewed at both Phase 1 and Phase 2. In all, 124 primary carers and 51 (35%) of the total 145 child complainants were interviewed.

Of the primary carers interviewed, 103 (83.1%) were mothers, five (4.0%) were fathers and 16 (12.9%) were guardians (e.g., aunts, grandparents). Ninety-two (74.2%) primary carers described themselves as Pakeha (Caucasian), 17 (13.7%) as Pacific Islander, 12 (9.7%) as Maori and three (2.4%) as Asian. Of the sub-sample of 51 children interviewed, 35 (68.6%) were Pakeha (Caucasian), 11 (21.6%) were Pacific Islanders, three (5.8%) were Maori and two (3.9%) were Asian. Table 2 shows the gender and age of children at the point of disclosure to the police or CYPFA.

Table 2 Gender and Age of Children at Disclosure to the Police or Child Protection Services

All Cases Children (N=145) Interviewed (N=51) n % n % Age (years) 3-4 12 8.3 - - 5-12 96 66.2 28 54.9 13-15 38 26.2 23 45.1 Gender Female 109 75.1 35 68.6 Male 36 24.8 16 31.4 All of the children interviewed alleged abuse by male perpetrators as did 143 (98.6%) of the total of the child complainants. Interviews with social workers and police officers revealed details about the allegations, recorded in Table 3. The table records an allegation made by each child that led to the most serious charge, the number of incidents alleged and the relationships...