THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Victims of child abuse, when officially questioned about the abuse, either remain silent or hyper-imagine. For instance, a boy who was allegedly abused inside his home by a close relative, when he was asked about the location of crime, spoke of a sacred grove, falling flowers and blood spraying out of a convulsing white cat.
Such inconsistencies in the testimonies of children, a manifestation of the emotional turmoil of the child, are pounced upon by defendant lawyers to get paedophiles off the hook. It is said that only 100 out of 10,000-odd child abuse incidents in the state are reported, and of this only four reaches conviction. This poor conviction rate is the consequence of unscientific evidence gathering.
Now, to record the abuse in the most structured and truthful manner, a draft protocol has been evolved for the first time ever for the forensic interview of child victims. The protocol is an easy-to-use manual that focuses on the simple child-friendly steps an investigating officer can follow to gather evidence from the child in a manner that will withstand the ruthlessness of the judicial process.
The act of child sexual abuse is often much more intricate than it seems. "Research indicates that in most cases, before the actual act of abuse occurs, an abuser grooms the child," said Dr Sreedharan, a psychiatrist. Grooming is a sort of hypnotisation whereby the paedophile prompts the child to do his bidding by conjuring up a false sense of security through love, care and attention. The child, in most cases, will not even be aware that she had been violated. This could also be why cases go unreported.
"It is therefore critical for child protection professionals, including Special Juvenile Police Unit personnel, Child Protection Project officers, Juvenile Justice Board and CWC members, to understand the dynamics involved in the whole act of abuse since they are the strongest link between the child and justice,” said a top Social Justice official.
