Forensic Interviewing of Child Survivors| Forensic Examination of Child Witness | Child Sexual Abuse

Forensic Interviewing of the Child Victims or Survivors | Forensic Examination of Child Witness
Forensic Interviewing of the child under POCSO Act 2012 [Examination of the child witness in Child Sexual Abuse]
Forensic interviewing is a means of gathering information from a victim or witness for use in a legal setting, such as a court hearing. The purpose of these interviews is to gather factual information in a legally defensible and developmentally appropriate manner about whether a child (or other person) has been abused. Forensic interviews are conducted by trained professionals, such as psychiatrist, nurse, pediatrician, advocate and psychologist.
Forensic interviews are used by trained professionals to gather information about incidents of alleged child abuse in a manner that will yield factual information from the child and stand up to scrutiny in court. For example, forensic interviewing techniques are designed to remove or minimize the potential for the interviewer to use suggestive or leading questions that may call the child’s statements into question. Forensic interviews can also help shape the investigation by highlighting areas for further investigation or evidence collection.
All forensic interview tend to have the following phases in common
Rapport-building phase: The interviewer attempts to build a trusting relationship with the child and explains some of the details about the interview process (e.g., documentation, instructions). This phase also allows the interviewer to better understand the child’s developmental level, linguistic capabilities, legal competency, and other characteristics and may provide the child with opportunities to practice providing narrative information.
Substantive phase: The interviewer seeks information related to the alleged abuse. This may include obtaining a narrative description of the event, inquiring about additional details, and testing alternative or multiple hypotheses (e.g., other possible scenarios), if appropriate.
Closure phase: The interviewer may address the child’s socioemotional or other immediate needs, transition to a topic not related to the alleged incident, or answer any questions.
Models may be scripted (i.e., interviewers are provided what to say verbatim), semistructured (i.e., interviewers are given guidance but are able to make certain decisions about how to proceed), or flexible (i.e., the interviewer is given great leeway so he or she can better follow the lead of the child)
Common topics covered by the instructions include requesting that the child only provide information about things that actually happened, giving the child permission to say “I don’t know,” advising the child to ask the interviewer to clarify a question if the child does not understand, and informing the child to alert the interviewer if the interviewer provides incorrect information.
The interview, where appropriate. The interviewer also may provide the child with opportunities to practice following the instructions (e.g., asking the child a question to which he or she would not know the answer in order to see if he or she will respond with “I don’t know”).
During the rapport-building phase, some interviewer ask the child to promise to tell the truth. Analogue research shows that children tend to be more likely to tell the truth if they promised to do so prior to being interviewed about the event in question, but the evidence is not as strong.
The purpose of all forensic interviewing models is to discourage the use of leading questions or techniques, but they may vary to some degree about which are the most preferred types of questions. There is consensus that open-ended questions (i.e., a question that invites a detailed, multiword response, such as “Tell me what happened.”)
Anatomical dolls and drawings rely on recognition memory (i.e., the child chooses a response from a series of alternatives), which may be less accurate but more detailed. The cue of the anatomical doll or diagram could trigger the child’s recognition of other body-related experiences
If more than one interview is needed, the same interviewer should interview the child. Interviewers should ensure they adhere to good forensic interviewing practice to help limit any negative consequences of conducting multiple interviews, such as the child experiencing additional trauma when providing multiple accounts of the maltreatment
Forensic interviewing is an extremely valuable tool for the investigation of child abuse allegations. When properly executed, it can assist in gathering factual information about the allegations using legally defensible techniques. A good forensic interview also can lead to the child and family receiving services and supports that best meet their needs

[@abhaymatkar214]

Clear & crisp Doctor.

[@SureshBadaMath]

Thank you very much Sir

[@swatioberoi515]

Thanku so much sir. . kindly make on juvenile justice act too

[@pramodgbagali]

Excellent and comprehensive information.

[@amitshahi1410]

Very well explained Sir, requesting you to give a video on preliminary assessment in jj act

[@SureshBadaMath]

Thanks for your encouraging feedback and will do it at the earliest

[@praveenkhairkar7799]

For many reasons...it's something that would be useful to report after child sexual abuse...great feelings to listen and learn from someone like authority working in field.
Thanks Suresh da

[@SureshBadaMath]

Thanks you very much for your encouraging feedback

[@jes2253]

Sir, I was admitted to a mental hospital in kerala from 29/01/2018 to 29/03/2018. The then admission, Mental Health Act 2017 provisions are applicable..? because I think the act came into force from May 2018 only..

[@SureshBadaMath]

You are absolutely right

[@jes2253]

@@SureshBadaMath Thanks for your valued reply..But I think Mha act 1987 repealed on April 2017,and new act passed on April 2017 itself...So can I use the Mha act 2017 also..

[@SureshBadaMath]

MHCA 2017 came into force only on 29 May 2018. That means it is applicable from 29 May 2018.
However, I request you kindly to take opinion from an advocate

[@jes2253]

@@SureshBadaMath Thank you Sir