THE CHILD WITNESS: PREPARATION

AND SUPPORT

Dr Richard Roylance
Cheryl Scanlon
Protect All Children Today (PACT) Queensland

Paper presented at the Children and Crime: Victims and Offenders Conference
convened by the Australian Institute of Criminology
and held in Brisbane, 17-18 June 1999
Introduction

Welcome to this Australian Institute of Criminology Conference specifically focused upon

children & young people; and their relationship to crime and the criminal justice system.

One has only to peruse newspapers and court transcripts from the past several centuries to
confirm that the community, the media, legislators, and the judicial system have readily
identified children and young persons as significant criminal offenders.

Within this historical context, it is sobering to note that children and young persons have
much less frequently attracted attention in their roles as the victims of crime. As a
paediatrician specifically interested in child protection, I am therefore gratified that the
presentations today will focus our attention upon the issues inherently associated with
children and young people as victims of crime.

Why has there been an exponential growth over the past two decades in the number of
children and young people being presented to the criminal justice system as victims? Why do
the issues associated with the identification, investigation, and prosecution of crimes against
children remain so problematic?

To understand this conundrum it is necessary to understand the specific characteristics and

dynamics of the events surrounding crimes against children and young people. For some of
you this is well travelled material, but at the beginning of a day such as today it is of benefit
to remember that only a small proportion of the matters involving the abuse and neglect of
children occur within a criminal justice framework.

In the pursuit of brevity I will summarise this complex area as follows:

The Crimes:
• Crimes committed against children are mostly commonly offences against their
physical person (ie Child Abuse & Neglect).
• Matters that are reported and ultimately reach the court-room are most likely to involve
child sexual abuse.
• The incidence and prevalence of child sexual abuse has begun to be identified during
the past several decades.
• CAN events are often unwitnessed and commonly have no collaborating physical
evidence.
• Mortal or life-threatening physical assaults most commonly involve non-verbal (male)
infants; or situations of familial murder-suicide. The identity of the offender and/or
their availability to be charged (ie deceased) is often problematic.
• Less severe physical assaults overlap into the area of “reasonable” physical discipline
(what-ever that may be) and will not be identified as assault within a criminal justice
framework.*

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The Perpetrators:

• The perpetrators of crimes against children or young people are usually well known to
them.
• Perpetrators are often members of the child’s immediate family, or within a circle of
family friends or acquaintances.
• Perpetrators of CAN are usually skilled in the use of manipulation and threats to
intimidate and disorientate the child or young person.
• Perpetrators often seek-out innately vulnerable children, especially children with
social, developmental or physical disadvantage.

The Victims:

• A child has relative handicap in relation to the language, power, and other adult skills
wielded by an adult offender.
• Over two-thirds of disclosures of crime against children and young people relate to
offences against females.
• Children and young persons are ill-equipped to deal with the psychological issues
associated with the pursuit of justice within an adversarial legal system.

Disclosures:

• In association with the factors above, disclosures of abuse by children and young
persons may be delayed, initially ambiguous and often ambivalent.
• Details may be released in a staggered manner.
• Retractions of true disclosures are not uncommon.

Investigations:

• There may be further complications if disclosures identify persons significant to the

“non-abusing” support persons usually responsible for the care and welfare of the child
or young person.
• If an alleged offender is the legal guardian or co-habitats with the child or young
person, the investigation becomes more complex.

Testimony:

• For all the above reasons, and in regard to a range of legal issues associated with the
prosecution of these categories of case, the ability of a child or young person to
provide the court with the best quality evidence is problematic.

Relationship:

• Despite wishing the abuse to stop, the victim is often desirous of maintaining an on-
going (if altered) relationship with the offender if they have been a person of
significance for the child or young person.
• Recidivism is high for untreated child sexual offenders.

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 • The role of “non-abusing” care-providers is crucial to both the successful prosecution
of the case, and the subsequent rehabilitation of the victim (and also the offender).
• The evidence is accumulating of risk for serious long-term psycho-social disadvantage
for the victim.

It would be reassuring if every home was as happy and as stable as the one portrayed in this
motif. It would be reassuring if the life of each child was as comfortable, as safe, as protected
as those before us appear to be.

However we know this to be a fantasy. Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Emotional Abuse, and
Neglect are all too common within our various communities.

We present a paper in regard to the Preparation and Support of non-offending children

required as witnesses within the Criminal Justice System in Queensland, Australia.

We will speak to the use of trained Child Witness Support Volunteers operating under the
supervision of salaried, professional staff to provide a Child Witness Support Program
(CWSP) that is independent from, but informed by, the formal police and justice
organisations.

Background

For all of its salutary features, the Criminal Justice system remains a threatening and
foreboding institution for all who fall within its grasp. Any adult who has testified in
Criminal Court can recount the degree of personal stress experienced when called upon to
give testimony; and subsequently defend that testimony, under hostile cross-examination.

Concern in regard to potential negative effects on a child that stem from entanglements with
the Criminal Justice System is commonly cited as a reason for non-disclosure, or retraction.

Protect All Children Today (PACT) is a community-based, non-government organisation

(NGO) which has a broad role as an advocate for the needs of children. It is both a service
provider (support & therapy), and an advocate for abused and neglected children, and their
family members.

In the late 1980’s, PACT recognised that there was need to provide specialised support and
therapy to children (and non-offending family members) who had experienced the trauma of
child abuse & neglect; and who were subsequently called upon to bare witness within the
Criminal Justice System.

The support and therapy program provided by PACT to these children was formalised over a
number of years into a discrete clinical program: the Child Witness Support Program
(CWSP).

The CWSP is aimed at the support of child witnesses through that difficult period from the
time a suspect is charged until six to twelve months after the completion of the Court process.
Due to delays inherent to the justice system, this total period may exceed two years.

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The CWSP provides support for client children and their families by the use of unpaid
Volunteers who are recruited from the community; and subsequently carefully selected and
trained. These are the Child Witness Support Volunteers.

Working in conjunction with salaried professional staff these Child Witness Support
Volunteers educate and support client children and families in matters related to the period of
the involvement with the Criminal Justice System.

The goal of the CWSP is to allow child witnesses the best opportunity to provide their
evidence to the Court by removing, as far as is possible, the uncertainties and anxieties
associated with the Court process.

Furthermore, the CWSP attempts to reduce the potential for negative impact upon children &
their families which may flow as a consequence of this involvement with the Criminal Justice
System.

During the time that the Volunteer is linked to the child, she/he is available to that child and
family.

The Support Volunteers teach children required to testify within the Criminal Justice system
about the logistics of the court process and its expectations of them, using such strategies as:
• Home visits to meet child & family before court
• Use of flash cards to depict layout of each type of court room and its participants
• Telephone contact in lead-up to court dates
• Court visiting prior to court appearances
• Provision of information kits to child and family
• Remaining with child whilst:
• waiting outside of the court, and
• while giving evidence

One of the fundamental strengths of the CWSP is that the Volunteers accompany children to
court and remain with them for the duration of their period within the court (including the
formal period of their testimony).

That Magistrates, Judges, Prosecutors, and Defence Counsel rarely object to the Volunteers
accompanying testifying children into Court-rooms, and on most occasions permit the
Volunteers to be seated beside children as they testify, speaks to a perception within the local
legal system that the CWSP is non-partisan.

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Recruitment: Child Witness Support Volunteers

PACT’s Child Witness Support Program is unique within Australia, and to our knowledge, is
available in various guises in only a small number of centres internationally. There are a
number of Programs with similar goals but in regard to a combination of factors such as:
• relative low cost;
• personalised support for children before, during and after the Court process;
• the use of unpaid Volunteers;
• professional supervision and support of these Volunteers; and
• independence from the formal justice/police agencies
We believe PACT’s CWSP stands alone.

The Child Witness Support Volunteers are neither saints, nor sinners, nor does PACT permit
the recruitment of fanatics, overcome by evangelical zeal.

The Volunteers are recruited from within the local community on an annual basis. They are
carefully selected and trained by PACT with specific attention to the issue of being able to
provide practical support and advice to the children and their families in a manner that is non-
judgemental and accessible.

Significant emphasis in training and supervision is given to practices that ensure the
Volunteers and the CWSP maintain (and are perceived to maintain) a distance from the details
of the actual case in progress.

Unlike some Witness Support Programs elsewhere, PACT is not financially or

administratively linked to Police or Justice, and is not perceived by the Courts or the Defence
Counsels as providing partisan advice. In our experience, the activities of the CWSP are
supported by both sides of the adversarial table.

Specifically, the Volunteers are not privy to the details of the allegations, and do not
discuss details of the case with the child or family. The presentation of the evidence
before the Court is generally the first time the Volunteer will be aware of the specifics of
the allegations or the details of the child’s testimony.

If I had to select any one graphic to portray the character of the Volunteers, it would be this
one: the patient, undemanding provision of comfort and support to vulnerable children in
need.

Because PACT identified that this type of volunteer work is invariably stressful and
inevitably composed of highs,and lows, there was recognition within the organisation that
professional support for the Volunteers would be required, in addition to that required for the
client children and families.

We are proud to say that under the supervision of a volunteer Management Committee, and
with a paid professional staff of only three (two Therapists & an Administrator), PACT has
almost fifty Child Witness Support Volunteers.

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Location and Demographics

The CWSP has historically serviced approximately half the state’s population (ie 1 - 1.5
million), of whom 400,000 are children of 16 years of age, or less. The catchment was in the
South-east corner of Queensland from the Gold Coast to the Sunshine Coast, west to Ipswich.

In the past twelve months the program has been extended to Rockhampton and further west.
PACT is now confident that it can provide detailed advice in relation to the training, staffing
and resource requirements for the establishment and maintenance of Child Witness Support
Program in any location. New funding has been recently attracted to extend the CWSP to
Cairns, Townsville, Toowoomba and Mackay.

In the 12 month period to June 1997, the CWSP provided support to 344 individual children
testifying as witnesses within the Criminal Justice system (234 females; 110 males) involving
over 1700 separate criminal charges.

241 of the children (70%) were complainants (ie were direct victims of alleged abuse) and
103 children witnessed offences (30%). The majority of charges related to offences of a
sexual nature perpetrated against the child witnesses. The average age of the children
testifying was 12 years.

It is important to note that the overwhelming majority of these offences perpetrated against
children were not committed by “outside” strangers; but were predominantly either immediate
family members or persons well know to the family.

120

PACT Clients
100
Age/Gender Distribution
Mar 1995 to Feb 1999
80

Female
PACT Client
60
Child Witnesses Male

40

20

0
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 22
Age in Years

The graph above shows the referral demographics to PACT in the 4 year period 1995 – 1999,
de-constructed by age and sex. Over 1000 children have been referred to the service in that
time. The small group more than 18 years of age were referred in regard to their special needs
(usually developmental delays) which functionally placed them within the programs mandate.
Only a very small percentage of the small group of children of less than 5 years of age
referred to PACT were ultimately required to testify in court for the range of reasons with
which this audience would be familiar.

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Child Witness Support Program Referral System

Referral to the Child Witness Support Program (CWSP) is most commonly made by officers
from:
• Specialised Units within the Queensland Police Service;
• the Department of Family, Youth & Community Care;
• Suspected Child Abuse & Neglect (SCAN) Teams.

Recognition that eligible client children will be known to the Police Service, lead to the
development of a formal referral relationship between PACT and the Queensland Police
Service.

In April 1996 Queensland Police approved a position within the Child Abuse Unit for a full-
time Police Liaison Officer. One of the factors which lead to this decision was overwhelming
evidence that the CWSP resulted in very a significant saving of Police resource (especially
police officer time); as responsibility for the preparation of witnesses ultimately lies with the
individual police officer.

When it transpires that an alleged offender has been charged, and it is likely that a child will
be required as a witness within the Criminal Justice system, the Police Liaison Officer is
contacted by the investigating officer. The details of the child, and the logistics of the case
(court dates, locations etc) are obtained from that police officer by the Police Liaison Officer
using a protocol; the information is then forwarded to PACT.

Referral to PACT’s services is completely voluntary, and children and their parents can elect
not to be referred to PACT or the CWSP.

On a very regular basis, the Police Liaison Officer and PACT’s Child Witness Support
Program Co-ordinator communicate. By this method, the client child is linked with the most
appropriate Child Witness Support Volunteer from within the active pool of Volunteers
within the CWSP.

The Volunteer will then make contact with the child and the non-offending family, with the
goal to provide support to them throughout the Criminal Justice process from the time of
Charging, through the Committal Process and until after the Criminal Trial is completed.

Many children and families presenting to PACT require further professional support to
clarify, and subsequently deal with their therapeutic needs. Individual issues for the abused
child (anxiety, depression, reduced self-esteem, PTSD, school failure etc); as well as aspects
related to siblings, parents and family dynamics frequently require attention.

PACT has undertaken a research initiative in conjunction with Professor Barry Nurcombe
(University of Queensland / Queensland Health) and the NHMRC in regard to the
establishment and evaluation of an evidence-based child sexual abuse treatment program.

There is a commonly held belief that the delivery of therapeutic support to child and
adolescent victims of sexual abuse is incompatible with an ongoing legal process. Members
of the therapeutic community who support this view argue that it is not possible to treat
trauma associated with sexual abuse without exploration of the traumatic events. It is argued

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that such exploration directly conflicts with legal instructions to witnesses not to discuss
evidence and that counselling may be interpreted as contaminating evidence, with the possible
result of a mistrial.

Consequently, traumatised children and adolescents who are required to give evidence
following the disclosure of sexual abuse, are often unable to obtain therapeutic services before
the completion of court proceedings, which can take years.

During the past 12 months, Protect All Children Today (PACT) has been piloting a
therapy program which focuses on the effects of abuse and does not necessitate the
exploration of evidentiary detail while the child or young person is involved in the court
process.

The treatment program utilises a cybernetic family therapy model to reframe beliefs and
highlight change, and relaxation theory to reduce stress.

The family therapy model of intervention is based on the Cybernetic Theory of Gregory
Bateson, as applied in the work of Michael White (1989). This approach is perceived to be
especially effective in assisting very stuck and distressed individuals to obtain a different
perspective on the reason for, and therefore the solution to, their difficulties.

The child and their non-offending family are offered entry into this formal support program
undertaken by the senior therapist employed by PACT as part of the Child Witness Support
Program.

CWSP - Goals and Objectives

The Court Witness Support Program (CWSP) offers preventative and supportive strategies to
protect the child victim as witness from secondary victimisation as a result of the court
process itself.

The Child Witness Support Program’s goal is to address the complex and stressful situations
that regularly confront the child victim of abuse & neglect:
• the impact of the abuse itself;
• the impact of the disclosure of the abuse on the child and the family;
• the potential trauma caused by the justice system itself;
the long-term consequences of the abuse upon the child as an individual in society.

To achieve these goals the CWSP provides the child with an accessible community-based
program utilising strategies to:
• enhance competence of the child witness;
• provide practical support to the child witness and non-offending family;
• empower the child witness; and
• provide skilled resources for therapeutic follow-up to the child witness and family.

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PACT’s Child Witness Support Program:
• highly cost-effective.;
• not funded by Justice or Police (therefore perceived as independent and impartial);
• child focused;
• highly valued by families; and the
• goal is the achievement of the child’s “Best Evidence” not Prosecution!

Summary

The points of significance from this paper are that:

• Children have limited skills, and require special consideration in circumstances that require
them to tell their story, especially if the telling of that story brings them it conflict with
adults as is the case in the adversarial Criminal Justice System.
• PACT’s Child Witness Support Program aims to support children so they can most
confidently tell their difficult stories, and
• For children and their non-offending families to survive the difficulties of the court
process, with the self-esteem and confidence necessary to successfully reintegrate into
normal life.

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