Shortcomings of the current system
Retraumatisation and ‘retelling’
Having an experience of child abuse or neglect identified by professionals is the first step in a child’s journey towards addressing an experience of hurt and harm. The hope is that it will be the first step towards a child experiencing increased care, justice, safety and recovery.
"One of the most difficult messages for professionals to hear is the idea that children’s engagement with services and systems designed to respond to their experience of abuse can feel more difficult than the abuse itself. I think most of my team would say that they are hearing regularly from children and families that the experience of the court system has been worse than the abuse they experienced in the first instance, which is an incredibly dispiriting thing to hear.”
Professional working in Scottish court advocacy services. (12)
Early research undertaken in the Children First North Strathclyde Bairns Hoose partnership area found a situation where children were engaged in ‘systems and services that were poorly designed and equipped to respond to the nature of trauma they had experienced’. (13)
A number of factors which contribute to this retraumatisation in Scotland and the UK include:
- The need for children and families to repeatedly ‘retell’ their experience of abuse to different professionals. 13
- Children and families living in ‘a suspended state of anxiety’ subject to protracted and repeatedly adjourned justice processes with limited communication. 14
- Experiences of children as witnesses in criminal justice processes where they may be subject to accusations of lying and victim blaming. 15
- Child victims and families feeling marginalised from decision making and unable to influence professional welfare and justice processes – exacerbating their loss of control. 16
Professional contexts across Scotland identified as contributing to this situation include:
- Siloed working practices across different disciplines.
- Poor coordination and no single point of contact supporting children and families.
- Limited cross-disciplinary trust and understanding (‘a system that does not know itself’).
- The absence of a coordinated recovery model available for all children subject to a forensic interview (‘joint investigative interview’).
- A strained funding context. 17
Poor communication and being kept ‘in the dark’
Research and consultation with child victims of abuse and harm in Scotland, repeatedly highlights the insufficiency of communication and information for children and families, about their case progress and to help them understand child protection and justice processes. 18
Susie, aged 13, victim of domestic abuse. 19
This mirrors findings from UK wide literature which highlight how child victims often lack access to regular, accessible and accurate information about processes they are involved with and may have poorly managed expectations about when, how and why things will take place.
Young person going through court (as witness) after experiencing child sexual exploitation. 20
In the aftermath of abuse, efforts to support a victim’s sense of control and understanding are key to countering the loss of power and control associated with an experience of trauma. Poor communication about justice and welfare processes can have significant implications on children and families’ wellbeing, increasing their levels of anxiety and undermining a sense of safety.
Lack of access to recovery support and advocacy
Across Scotland, children’s access to child-centred support and advocacy after an experience of abuse has been identified as inconsistent and insufficient to meet children’s needs. 21 Children’s engagement with criminal justice processes as a victim is also widely recognised to catalyse further needs for support and advocacy, reflecting the complex and often distressing nature of these processes. 22
Morven – mother of 15-year-old son who testified in domestic abuse case. 23
Delays and distress in the court processes
Current protracted timeframes for criminal justice processes mean many child victims and their families are caught up in justice processes for many months and sometimes years, often with little certainty over when cases will conclude. Research from Scotland, the UK and beyond highlights that such delays place a heavy burden on children and families and can stymy recovery by preventing children from ‘moving on’. 24
Child victims’ experiences of attending and testifying in adult centric court processes in Scotland and beyond are demonstrated to be highly stressful. 25 A recent review of evidence from children involved in court processes highlights children’s high levels of fear when facing (or anticipating facing) a perpetrator in court. 26 The nature of cross examination within ‘live’ court processes has been shown to be particularly stressful for children.
Mother of 9-year-old boy, appearing as a witness in domestic abuse case. 27
Professional in North Strathclyde Bairns Hoose. 28
The Forgotten Children is a graphic illustration created by Faith with support from Children First to share her children's experiences of court, thanks to funding from the Scottish Government Bairns Hoose Thematic Fund.
10, 14, 19, 23, 27 Houghton, C. Morrison, F. Warrington, C and Tisdall K (2022) Domestic abuse court experiences - perspectives of victims and witnesses: research findings Edinburgh: Justice and Analytical Services - Scottish Government.
11, 12, 17, 28 Mitchell, M., Warrington, C., Devaney, J., Lavoie, J. & Yates, P. (2023) North Strathclyde Bairns Hoose Evaluation – Phase One Report. University of Edinburgh.
13 Lavoie, J. , Hemady, C., Mitchell, M, Devaney, J and Hill, L. (2021) Responding to Child Victims and Witnesses of Trauma and Abuse: Addressing the Support Needs of Children and Families Through the Barnahus Model. Edinburgh. Edinburgh University/ Health Improvement Scotland.
15 Beckett, H and Warrington, C (2013) Making Justice Work. Luton. University of Bedfordshire; Warrington, C. Ackerley, L, Allnock, D and Beckett, H (2017) Making Noise: Children’s Voices for positive change after sexual abuse
16 Field, N. and Katz. C. (2023) “The Experiences And Perceptions Of Sexually Abused Children As Participants In The Legal Process: Key Conclusions From A Scoping Literature Review”. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 24, Pp. 2758–2771.
18 Houghton, C. MacDonald, R (2018) Everyday Heroes: Justice Report. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh
20 Beckett, H and Warrington, C (2013) Making Justice Work. Luton. University of Bedfordshire
21 Galloway, S., Love, R. and Wales, A. (2017) The right to recover: therapeutic services for children and young people following sexual abuse: an overview of provision in the West of Scotland. London: NSPCC; Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership (2021) West of Scotland Sexual Assault and Rape Service Report on the Progress made in Developing a Regional Service Glasgow City Council.
22 Brown, S. Afzal, H., Fernandes Aguilera, M, Denyer, K (2022) Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme Briefing: Voice of the Child. National Police Chiefs Councils
25 Plotnikoff, J and Woolfson, R (2019) Falling Short: Young witness policy and practice in England and Wales. London. NSPCC
26 See Mitchell,M. et al. (2024); Houghton, C. et al. (2022)
27 Field, N. and Katz. C. (2023) “The Experiences And Perceptions Of Sexually Abused Children As Participants In The Legal Process: Key Conclusions From A Scoping Literature Review”. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 24, Pp. 2758–2771