Prosecutors' perspectives on clarifying terms for genitalia in child sexual abuse interviews

In investigative interviews with alleged victims of child sexual abuse, professionals must establish the nature of the alleged abuse by determining what body parts were involved in the offending. This can be difficult, however, because children often use colloquial (non-anatomical) terms to describe genitalia, and there has been little direction for interviewers about clarifying these terms sufficiently to establish the charge. The aim of this study was to address the need for guidance from prosecutors about the level of clarity in terms required from a legal perspective, and how this clarity can be achieved. A focus group of nine prosecutors (representing all but one Australian State and Territory) were asked to consider what degree of clarity in terminology for genitalia was adequate and how such clarity could be achieved. Thematic analysis revealed that a reduction in specific questioning around genitalia would improve the usefulness of investigative interviews with children from a legal perspective. Recommendations for improving interviews about abuse with child witnesses are discussed. © 2014 The Australian Psychological Society.

Prosecutors’ perceptions on improving child witness interviews about abuse

This edited volume reviews the latest research on investigative interviewing in order to provide insights on the psychological processes of the person being interviewed as well as to offer guidelines for conducting credible and useful ...

Witness recall across repeated interviews in a case of repeated abuse.

In this illustrative case study we examine the three forensic interviews of a girl who experienced repeated sexual abuse from ages 7 to 11. She disclosed the abuse after watching a serialized television show that contained a storyline similar to her own experience. This triggered an investigation that ended in successful prosecution of the offender. Because this case involved abuse that was repeated on a weekly basis for 4 years we thus investigated the degree to which the child's narrative reflected specific episodes or generic accounts, and both the interviewer's and child's attempts to elicit and provide, respectively, specific details across the 3 interviews collected in a 1 month period. Across the 3 interviews, the child's account was largely generic, yet on a number of occasions she provided details specific to individual incidents (episodic leads) that could have been probed further. As predicted: earlier interviews were characterized more by episodic than generic prompts and the reverse was true for the third interview; the child often responded using the same style of language (episodic or generic) as the interviewer; and open questions yielded narrative information. We discuss the importance of adopting children's words to specify occurrences, and the potential benefits of permitting generic recall in investigative interviews on children's ability to provide episodic leads. Despite the fact that the testimony was characterized by generic information about what usually happened, rather than specific episodic details about individual occurrences, this case resulted in successful prosecution.

Exploring family and community involvement to protect Thai youths from alcohol and illegal drug abuse

Youth substance abuse is widely recognized as a major public health issue in Thailand. This study explores family and community risk and protective factors relevant to alcohol and illegal drug misuse in 1,778 Thai teenagers. Strong family attachment and a family history of antisocial behaviors were strongly associated with nearly all forms of substance abuse, with adjusted odds ratios ranging from 5.05 to 8.45. Community disorganization was strongly associated with self-reported substance use, although involvement in prosocial activities acted as a protective factor. The findings suggest that interventions that promote family cohesion and encourage community involvement may have considerable benefits in reducing substance abuse in Thai adolescents.

Effects of persisting emotional impact from child abuse and norepinephrine transporter genetic variation on antidepressant efficacy in major depression: a pilot study

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies suggest child abuse and serotonergic polymorphism influence depression susceptibility and antidepressant efficacy. Polymorphisms of the norepinephrine transporter (NET) may also be involved. Research in the area is possibly clouded by under reporting of abuse in researcher trials. METHODS: Adults (n=51) with major depressive disorder has 8 weeks treatment with escitalopram or venlafaxine. Abuse history was obtained, the ongoing emotional impact of which was measured with the 15-item impact of event scale (IES-15). The 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) was applied serially. Two NET polymorphisms (rs2242446 and rs5569) were assayed, blinded to HDRS ratings and abuse history. RESULTS: No subjects reporting abuse with high impact in adulthood (IES-15 ≥26, n=12) remitted; whereas 77% reporting low impact (IES-15 <26; n=26) remitted (p<0.001). Subjects reporting high impact abuse (n=12) had a 50-fold (95% confidence interval=4.85-514.6) greater odds of carrying rs2242446-TT genotype, but the small sample size leaves this finding vulnerable to type I error. CONCLUSIONS: The level of persisting impact of child abuse appears relevant to antidepressant efficacy, with susceptibility to such possibly being influence by NET rs2242446 polymorphism. Larger studies may be merited to expand on this pilot level finding given potential for biomarker utility.

International students in transnational mobility: intercultural connectedness with domestic and international peers, institutions and the wider community

International students’ connectedness with their peers, institutions and the broader community significantly affects their learning and wellbeing. It is important to understand their multiple desires for intercultural connectedness in order to nurture it. This paper analyses the motives and nature of international students’ intercultural connectedness. It is based on a study that includes more than 150 interviews and fieldwork with international students and staff from 25 vocational education colleges in Australia. Drawing on Blumer’s symbolic interactionism theory as a conceptual framework, the study found international students’ motivation to engage in intercultural connectedness is linked to not only their desire for respect and recognition for intellectual, cultural and linguistic capacities and diversities but also for employment aspirations. The research shows various dimensions in which intercultural engagement is seen to encompass not only empathy, sociability and equity but also employability. The findings suggest meaningful interaction is essentially bound to reciprocal learning.

Disciplinary proceedings against doctors who abuse controlled substances

Study examined 27 reports from disciplinary tribunals against medical practitioners who abused narcotic analgesics (often combined with other drugs of addiction) between 2010 and 2015. The study covered all States and Territories except Tasmania (no reports were accessible for this jurisdiction. The reports revealed that 12 medical practitioners were in their 40s; five in their 30s; and one person still in the 20s. Although majority were General Practitioners (15 out of 27), other medical specialties were also represented. Self-administered Pethidine was the most prevalent opioid (11 out of 27), and was the only drug used alone. Morphine was self-administered by six doctors; the same number used high doses of Panadeine Forte, Codeine and Codeine Phosphate, and Fentanyl was abused by five doctors. Surprisingly, fewer medical practitioners appear to use such opiates such as Propofol, Tramadol and Tramol, Oxycodone and Endone. The examination of cases suggests lack of consistency in the imposition of professional sanctions and penalties by the relevant tribunals. The study concludes that disciplinary tribunals should apply the test of proportionality in the form of ‘reasonable necessity’ when deciding whether to remove or suspend the addicted medical practitioner from the Register.

Child sexual abuse research: challenges of case tracking through administrative databases

Child sexual abuse has a serious impact on victims, their families and the broader community. As such, there is a critical need for sound research evidence to inform specialist responses. Increasingly, researchers are utilising administrative databases to track outcomes of individual cases across health, justice and other government agencies. There are unique advantages to this approach, including the ability to access a rich source of information at a population-wide level. However, the potential limitations of utilising administrative databases have not been fully explored. Because these databases were created originally for administrative rather than research purposes, there are significant problems with using this data at face value for research projects. We draw on our collective research experience in child sexual abuse to highlight common problems that have emerged when applying administrative databases to research questions. Some of the problems discussed include identification of relevant cases, ensuring reliability and dealing with missing data. Our article concludes with recommendations for researchers and policy-makers to enhance data quality.

Measuring community and service provider attitudes to child sexual abuse in remote indigenous communities in Western Australia

This study aimed to evaluate a scale to measure attitudes to child sexual abuse (CSA) in remote Australian Indigenous communities. The scale was developed to gauge attitudes that may be inhibiting the reporting of cases of CSA to police, as well as to evaluate whether interventions that focused on collaborative relationships between community members and police resulted in changes in attitudes. Participants included service providers living outside the community (58%), community members (living within the community; 9%), and service providers who were also community members (33%); 18% of participants identified as Indigenous. Principal components analysis revealed a nonintuitive six-factor solution that did not support the original four concepts. Four intuitive factors emerged from an abridged version of the scale: entrenched issues, personal understanding and knowledge, communication between community and government, and community action. The scale detected significant differences between community status and between Indigenous status groups on some factors.

Prosecutors’ perceptions of how to improve the quality of evidence in domestic violence cases

Limited evidence in domestic violence prosecutions is a persistent problem. Focus groups with 13 prosecutors from across Australia and New Zealand were used to explore how to improve the quality of evidence collected and presented in these cases. A thematic analysis identified three main strategies: improving the quality of investigations by initial police responders, supporting the complainant and tailoring the trial process to the domestic violence context. The most discussed strategy within these categories has previously received little attention– police video recording the complainant's initial account and using that video as the basis for the complainant's courtroom testimony.

The effect of victim age on police authorisation of charges in cases of child sexual abuse

In the study, a cohort of 440 child sexual abuse cases were used to model the effect of victim age on police authorisation of charges. Linear and quadratic effects of age were modelled in a logistic regression that controlled for case characteristics and evidence. The quadratic effect of victim age was strengthened when control variables were included in the model and the linear effect of age was not significant in the final model. The results indicated that cases involving victims in middle childhood had a higher proportion of suspects charged than cases involving victims in early childhood and adolescence. Possible mediators of the relationship between victim age and charges were explored and it was found that cases with older victims had a higher prevalence of extra-familial abuse and suspect confessions, and these factors had a positive effect on the proportion of suspects charged. Possible explanations for the quadratic effect of victim age and mediation are discussed.

Indonesian approach to ASEAN Plus Three financial cooperation: power relations, domestic politics, and regulatory regionalism

 This study examines Indonesia’s responses to financial regionalism within ASEAN Plus Three cooperation. It derives largely from the discussions, debates and empirical findings on how the Indonesian financial agencies exercise their authority and mandates, formulate policy coordination with international counterparts, and internalize and execute policy options into domestic financial regimes.