Legal professionals’ views on pre-trial therapy in cases of child sexual abuse in South Africa
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15345728 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ansie Fouche (0000-0002-1896-6968, North-West University, corresponding author), Liana Le Roux (0000-0002-0381-1605, University of Pretoria) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 207-214 |
| Publication date | 2014-03-04 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Psychology in Africa (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1433-0237 • E-ISSN: 1815-5626 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/14330237.2014.903071 |
| OpenAlex | W1520933056 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 21 |
The aim of this study is to report on a preliminary qualitative inquiry into the views of legal professionals in South Africa regarding pre-trial therapy for victims of child sexual abuse (CSA). Applying purposive and snowball sampling, 15 experienced state prosecutors, presiding officers of criminal courts, and defence attorneys and advocates in the Gauteng Province were interviewed. Primary themes were identified in the data, namely: therapy is crucial, but the timing thereof is a contentious aspect, due to the ripple effect that contamination of the child's evidence could have and there are no directives regarding pre-trial therapy in South Africa. The results suggest conflict in the criminal justice system between the constitutional rights of the accused and that of the alleged victim of CSA. We recommend that ways should be explored to provide pre-trial therapy for victims of CSA that will not affect the integrity of the legal case
Child sexual abuse · Criminal trial · Criminology · Economic Justice · Nonprobability sampling · Poison control · Political science · Sexual abuse · Snowball sampling · Child Abuse and Trauma · Child Welfare and Adoption · Human Factors and Ergonomics · Law · Medicine · Psychology · Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending
| Citations per year | 0.22 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2017 - 2017 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |