TY - JOUR
T1 - Uncertainty and misconceptions about child sexual abuse
T2 - Implications for the criminal justice system
AU - Cossins, A
AU - Goodman-Delahunty, Jane
AU - O'Brien, K
N1 - Imported on 12 Apr 2017 - DigiTool details were: Journal title (773t) = Psychiatry Psychology and Law. ISSNs: 1321-8719;
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Recent amendments to the uniform evidence legislation in Australia mean that it will be possible for prosecutors to call expert opinion evidence to bolster the credibility of child complainants in child sexual assault (CSA) trials. Yet little is known about the extent of the common beliefs and misconceptions in the Australian population about child sexual abuse and the degree of discord between their beliefs and what the research literature shows. A survey investigated the knowledge and misconceptions of 659 laypeople about children's memory, reliability, suggestibility and children's responses to sexual abuse, and explored demographic differences in child sexual abuse misconceptions in an Australian jury-eligible sample. Reported here are the first published results on the perceptions and beliefs of Australian citizens regarding factors that influence the outcomes in CSA cases. An important contribution was significant findings of extensive uncertainty regarding these topics. Results showed that gender, age and educational attainment were associated with the endorsement of misconceptions about CSA cases. Topics that expert evidence can address to remedy these knowledge deficits were identified.
AB - Recent amendments to the uniform evidence legislation in Australia mean that it will be possible for prosecutors to call expert opinion evidence to bolster the credibility of child complainants in child sexual assault (CSA) trials. Yet little is known about the extent of the common beliefs and misconceptions in the Australian population about child sexual abuse and the degree of discord between their beliefs and what the research literature shows. A survey investigated the knowledge and misconceptions of 659 laypeople about children's memory, reliability, suggestibility and children's responses to sexual abuse, and explored demographic differences in child sexual abuse misconceptions in an Australian jury-eligible sample. Reported here are the first published results on the perceptions and beliefs of Australian citizens regarding factors that influence the outcomes in CSA cases. An important contribution was significant findings of extensive uncertainty regarding these topics. Results showed that gender, age and educational attainment were associated with the endorsement of misconceptions about CSA cases. Topics that expert evidence can address to remedy these knowledge deficits were identified.
KW - Expert evidence
KW - Misconceptions
KW - Mock jury study
KW - Uniform Evidence Act
U2 - 10.1080/13218710902930234
DO - 10.1080/13218710902930234
M3 - Article
VL - 16
SP - 435
EP - 452
JO - Psychiatry, Psychology and Law
JF - Psychiatry, Psychology and Law
SN - 1321-8719
IS - 3
ER -