THE CURRENT SITUATION OF INVESTIGATIVE INTERVIEWING OF CHILDREN IN THE UK AND TURKEY

Abstract

Child maltreatment is a social problem that is emphasized and researched around the World. The phenomenon of sexual abuse is different from other types of abuse, since there is no eyewitness other than the victim and perpetrator. Children exposed to sexual abuse are sometimes pressured by family members to keep secret or deny what happened because the abuser is a family member which makes it difficult to reveal sexual abuse. Forensic interview is one of the most important tools in order to obtain information about what happened from the child who is the victim of abuse. The fact that the forensic interviewer is an expert in the field increases the probability of getting a full and correct answer from the child victim of abuse. The history of forensic interview with a child in the UK is older than in Turkey, the process that started in the late 1970s accelerated in the 1990s. The process of forensic interviewing with children in Turkey gained momentum especially with the publication of the Child Monitoring Center circular in 2012. It is pleasing that the number of Child Monitoring Centers affiliated to the Ministry of Health and Forensic Interview Rooms affiliated to the Ministry of Justice has increased rapidly since 2012. There is no forensic interview protocol yet in Turkey. It is believed that it would be appropriate to prepare a forensic interview protocol as soon as possible with the studies carried out on this subject. This article initially focus on investigative interviewing of children and then discuss the important components that may impact the children’s testimony. Interview aids, cognitive interview, multiple interviews with children and the role of interviewer will be outlined. In addition to that, investigative interviewing of children in the UK and Turkey will be discussed.

Keywords

• Abuse
• child
• investigative interview
• justice
• protection

İNGİLTERE VE TÜRKİYE'DE ÇOCUKLARLA ADLİ GÖRÜŞMEYE İLİŞKİN MEVCUT DURUM DEĞERLENDİRMESİ

Öz

Çocuğa yönelik fena muamele günümüzde dünya genelinde üzerinde durulan ve araştırmalara konu olan bir sosyal sorundur. Cinsel istismar olgusu genelde istismar mağduru ile istismarcının dışında başka bir görgü tanığı olmaması sebebiyle diğer istismar türlerinden farklıdır. Cinsel istismara maruz kalan çocuklar bazen istismarcının aile üyesi olması sebebiyle yaşananları gizli tutması ya da inkar etmesi için aile üyeleri tarafından baskıya maruz kalmakta bu durum cinsel istismarın ortaya çıkarılmasını güçleştirmektedir. Adli görüşme istismar mağduru çocuktan yaşananlar hakkında bilgi almak adına en önemli araçlardan birisidir. Adli görüşmecinin alanında uzman olması mağdur çocuktan istismarla ilgili tam ve doğru yanıt alınması olasılığını arttırmaktadır. Birleşik Krallıkta çocukla adli görüşmenin tarihçesi Türkiye’ye nazaran daha eskidir, 1970’li yılların sonunda başlayan süreç 1990’lı yıllarda hızlanmıştır. Türkiye’de çocukla adli görüşme süreci özellikle 2012 yılında Çocuk İzlem Merkezi genelgesinin yayınlanmasıyla hız kazanmıştır. 2012 yılından beri Sağlık Bakanlığına bağlı Çocuk İzlem Merkezleri ile Adalet Bakanlığına bağlı Adli Görüşme Odalarının sayısının hızla artması memnuniyet vericidir. Türkiye’de henüz çocukla adli görüşme protokolü bulunmamaktadır. Bu konuda yürütülen çalışmalarla en kısa zamanda adli görüşme protokolü hazırlanmasının isabetli olacağına inanılmaktadır. Bu makale ilk olarak çocuklarla adli amaçlı görüşmeye odaklanmakta ve daha sonra çocukların ifadesini etkileyebilecek önemli bileşenleri tartışmaktadır. Mülakat yardımcıları, bilişsel mülakat, çocuklarla çoklu mülakatlar ve mülakatçının rolü ana hatlarıyla ele alınacaktır. Buna ek olarak, İngiltere ve Türkiye'de çocuklarla yapılan adli görüşmeler tartışılacaktır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• İstismar
• çocuk
• adli görüşme
• adalet
• koruma

Kaynakça

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