Reliability of Forensic Interview with Child Victims of Sexual Abuse in Turkiye
Date
2022
Journal Title
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Publisher
Psikiyatride Güncel Yaklaşımlar-Current Approaches in Psychiatry
Abstract
Sometimes the only evidence in child sexual abuse cases may be the declaration of the victim child. It is only recent phenomenon in Turkey that
forensic interviews with child victims of sexual abuse prioritize the child victims and they are administered in a careful and delicate way that
would not cause secondary traumatization, and they are conducted by professionals educated. Child advocacy centers and forensic interview
rooms are formations where forensic interviews are conducted with children who are victims of sexual abuse. In this article, reliability of forensic
interviews conducted with sexually abused child victims are covered on the basis of practices in child advocacy centers. From this point of view,
the place of child abuse in Turkish law, institutional practices on this issue and the importance of coordination among institutions are mentioned.
Subsequently, the importance of forensic interview for the investigation conducted with the child is explained, and basis components of the
forensic interview process are listed. Afterwards, the characteristics of widely used protocols for forensic interviews in the world are mentioned
and the reliability of victim’s statement effect and elements affecting the trustworthiness are touched upon. Last, the failures experienced in the
system which includes forensic interviews in Turkey and suggestions to remedy these are assessed. Forensic interview should be done within the
framework of a joint meeting protocol, increasing the frequency of forensic interviewer supervision training and making it compulsory, public
prosecutor, judge, law enforcement officer and professionals working in the child protection system should also participate in the training of
forensic interview with the child and consideration of all factors in the reliability evaluation of the forensic interview has been the suggestions
conveyed in the light of the relevant literature.
Description
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Article
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Keywords
International Resources, Turkey, Children's Advocacy Center, child sexual abuse, forensic interview, reliability
Citation
Orhan, G., & Erden, H. G. (2022). Reliability of Forensic Interview with Child Victims of Sexual Abuse in Turkiye. Psikiyatride Güncel Yaklaşımlar-Current Approaches in Psychiatry.