Forensic Interview with Children Victim of Sexual Abuse and Its Importance

Year 2022, Volume: 9 Issue: 2, 317 - 331, 30.06.2022

Belgin Üstün Güllü , Gulsen Erden

https://doi.org/10.31682/ayna.1002381

Abstract

Forensic interviews with children who are victims of sexual abuse are crucial in contributing to the legal process in terms of the information obtained from the child and prevention of secondary trauma by considering the child’s best interests. The reliable information obtained from the child contributes to the offender's punishment and help taking precautions to protect the victim. It is of utmost importance being aware of the factors affecting the interview process to obtain reliable information while working with children in forensic settings. Among the most critical factors that will have an impact on the interview process are the question styles used in the interviews. Question styles frequently utilized in forensic interviews are in open-ended, focused, optional, and yes/no answer formats. It has been observed that forensic interviewers allowing free association through open-ended questions gather more detailed and reliable information from the children. In addition to their question styles, forensic interviewers' education, knowledge, experience and sensitivity to children's emotional and behavioral clues also affect the interview process and prevent secondary traumas. In this review article, the interview experiences of forensic interviewers who have gone through a long training process and important factors affecting the interview process were discussed.

Keywords

Sexual abuse, forensic interview, child abuse

Cinsel İstismar Mağduru Çocuklarla Adli Görüşme ve Önemi

Abstract

Cinsel istismar mağduru çocuklarla yapılan adli görüşmeler çocuktan sürece ilişkin alınan bilgilerle hukuki sürece katkı sağlamasının yanı sıra çocuğun üstün yararını gözeterek ikincil travma yaşamasının önüne geçilmesi açısından oldukça önemlidir. Çocuktan alınan güvenilir bilgi ile suçlunun cezalandırılmasına ve mağdurun korunmasına yönelik önlemler alınmasına katkı sağlanmaktadır. Çocuklarla yapılan adli görüşmelerde özellikle görüşme sürecine etki edecek faktörlere karşı farkında olunması güvenilir bilgi alınmasının önemli koşullarındandır. Görüşme sürecine etki edecek en önemli faktörler arasında görüşmede kullanılan soru tarzları gelmektedir. Adli görüşmelerde sıklıkla kullanılan soru tarzları; açık uçlu, odaklanılmış, seçenekli ve evet/hayır cevaplı soru tarzlarıdır. Görüşmelerde açık uçlu soru tarzı kullanarak serbest çağrışıma izin veren adli görüşmecilerin çocuklardan daha ayrıntılı ve güvenilir bilgi aldıkları görülmektedir. Soru tarzlarının yanı sıra adli görüşmecilerin eğitimi, bilgi ve deneyimi, çocukların duygusal ve davranışsal ipuçlarına karşı duyarlılıkları da görüşme sürecine etki etmekte ve çocukların ikincil travmalarının önüne geçmektedir. Bu derleme makalede uzun bir eğitim sürecinden geçen adli görüşmecilerin görüşme deneyimleri ve görüşme sürecine etki eden önemli faktörler tartışılacaktır.

Keywords

Cinsel istismar, adli görüşme, çocuk istismarı

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