Accompagnement du chien d’assistance judiciaire auprès de mineur(e)s présumé(e)s victimes. Étude pilote menée en France en 2021

Abstract

Objectives

In France, 10% of the population's 13,700,000 minors are recognized as abused, and 50% of abused minors are under the age of 2. Article 19 of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child obliges States to protect children against all forms of violence, hence the concern, in France, for efficient justice and the least possible impact on minors presumed to be victims during proceedings. Legal proceedings conducted by investigators, and in particular those hearings of minors presumed to be victims, can be a trying time. To ensure that the conditions for giving evidence are as untraumatizing as possible, an experiment involving the accompaniment of minors by a courthouse dog (CHD) was begun in Cahors in 2019 and was extended to other towns such as Orléans. This accompaniment by a CHD, inspired by an initiative developed in the United States in 2012, can take place during all stages of the legal process. Currently, France is the only European country to experiment with this accompaniment. Before proposing a systematization of the use of CHD, it is necessary to assess the feelings of those involved in this accompaniment, particularly those of the victims, which is the aim of this study.

Method

This study is multicentric (conducted in Orléans and Cahors), retrospective, and descriptive. Data were collected in 2021 using hetero-questionnaires proposed to the minors and focusing on their behaviors and feelings (n = 111), before presentation of the CHD; during the presence of the CHD; and at the end of the hearing. The feelings of the interviewers, caregivers, and other professionals were also collected.

Results

Before the CHD presentation, 60% of the minors were worried and 17% were smiling. After the hearing and on departure, in the presence of the dog: 4.5% were still showing signs of anxiety and 27% were smiling. The CHD had a calming effect on all those involved, too. It did not disrupt the course of the hearings. The CHD guaranteed total neutrality, did not induce any suggestibility, and was able to position himself with the minors in a discreet, gentle, and effective manner.

Discussion

The triangular relationship – juvenile, investigator, CHD – appears to be beneficial for all involved, according to the testimonies of both juveniles and professionals. The CHD is a catalyst for the minors’ attention, a protector in the face of the unknown; it seems to encourage the freeing of speech and establishes a calming dynamic. Physical and visual contact with the CHD had a reassuring effect. For the investigators, who were generally meeting the minor for the first time, the CHD was appreciated as a real support, as a working partner and a neutral positive reinforcer, as investigators must exercise their profession according to a legal approach of absolute neutrality that does not necessarily correspond to the needs of the traumatized minors they receive, which sometimes makes it difficult to establish a connection. The results also underline the possible protective effect of the CHD on professionals who may be prone to vicarious trauma, as well as on those close to and/or accompanying the minors, who were also reassured by the animal's presence. As far as refusal to be accompanied by the CHD is concerned, there may be a notion of danger or aggressiveness on the part of the dog, hence the importance of proposing this accompaniment in the knowledge of possible reticence or even phobia. This French pilot study on the accompaniment of minors by a legal assistance dog has its limitations due to the small number of participants. It does, however, have the advantage of being original and paving the way for future studies.

Conclusion

The impact of the CHD's support on all minors and caregivers was positive overall. The interest in extending this type of study to other sites with CHD, by associating the views of child psychiatrists and behaviorists, could provide an even more significant overview and optimize support for minors based on observation of animal-human interactions.