'They told me I was not a party in this case': Children's and young people's experiences of participation and exclusion in the criminal justice process following their sexual maltreatment.
{"title":"'They told me I was not a party in this case': Children's and young people's experiences of participation and exclusion in the criminal justice process following their sexual maltreatment.","authors":"Jonathan Piamenta, Tali Gal","doi":"10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.107078","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Sexually abused adolescents face numerous challenges during criminal proceedings against their perpetrators, from the initial report and during investigations, prosecutorial preparations, and testifying in court. Despite international and national norms regarding children's right to participation in decision-making processes affecting them, its fulfillment throughout the criminal process against their abusers is often limited.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>The paper aims to describe and conceptualize the experiences of sexually abused adolescents of their participation in decision-making junctures during the criminal process.</p><p><strong>Participants and setting: </strong>This qualitative-phenomenological study is based on the narratives of twelve Israeli sexually exploited youth (aged 14-22) who were involved in criminal justice processes following their victimization.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed inductively, until reaching theoretical conceptualization.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We identify four major themes shaping the ways young victims experienced their participation throughout the criminal process: (1) The extent to which clear and age-appropriate information was delivered to them; (2) participants' need for a trusting relationship; (3) experiences of being ignored and excluded; and (4) the use of manipulative or coercive methods toward the child. Participation experiences were heavily influenced by the behaviors and approaches of the people around the children, as emerging from the interviewees' narratives.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Findings suggest an understanding of young victims' participation in the criminal process as occurring within an eco-system, and demonstrate how people in the circles around them can promote or hinder their meaningful and safe participation in criminal processes. Further studies are needed to test these initial results in larger and representative samples.</p>","PeriodicalId":51343,"journal":{"name":"Child Abuse & Neglect","volume":" ","pages":"107078"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Child Abuse & Neglect","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.107078","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"FAMILY STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Sexually abused adolescents face numerous challenges during criminal proceedings against their perpetrators, from the initial report and during investigations, prosecutorial preparations, and testifying in court. Despite international and national norms regarding children's right to participation in decision-making processes affecting them, its fulfillment throughout the criminal process against their abusers is often limited.
Objective: The paper aims to describe and conceptualize the experiences of sexually abused adolescents of their participation in decision-making junctures during the criminal process.
Participants and setting: This qualitative-phenomenological study is based on the narratives of twelve Israeli sexually exploited youth (aged 14-22) who were involved in criminal justice processes following their victimization.
Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed inductively, until reaching theoretical conceptualization.
Results: We identify four major themes shaping the ways young victims experienced their participation throughout the criminal process: (1) The extent to which clear and age-appropriate information was delivered to them; (2) participants' need for a trusting relationship; (3) experiences of being ignored and excluded; and (4) the use of manipulative or coercive methods toward the child. Participation experiences were heavily influenced by the behaviors and approaches of the people around the children, as emerging from the interviewees' narratives.
Conclusions: Findings suggest an understanding of young victims' participation in the criminal process as occurring within an eco-system, and demonstrate how people in the circles around them can promote or hinder their meaningful and safe participation in criminal processes. Further studies are needed to test these initial results in larger and representative samples.
期刊介绍：
Official Publication of the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. Child Abuse & Neglect The International Journal, provides an international, multidisciplinary forum on all aspects of child abuse and neglect, with special emphasis on prevention and treatment; the scope extends further to all those aspects of life which either favor or hinder child development. While contributions will primarily be from the fields of psychology, psychiatry, social work, medicine, nursing, law enforcement, legislature, education, and anthropology, the Journal encourages the concerned lay individual and child-oriented advocate organizations to contribute.
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号
