Child Sexual Abuse - India

Wanted: Friendly, warm interviewers Interview with Jennifer Anderson, associate director, CornerHouse Interagency Child Abuse Evaluation & Training Center, Minneapolis What does ‘forensic interviewing’ entail? Forensic interviewing refers to gathering evidence from a child who is an alleged victim of abuse. A concerted effort is made to gather information about the incident in a certain way so that it is unbiased and suitable for use in court. The information is also used to assess a child’s health, welfare and safety. Research has shown that a warm and friendly interviewer elicits more accurate information than an authoritative interviewer. What is the protocol for forensic interviewing? In general, the protocol contains elements of rapport-building. The most important thing in an interview is that it has to be child-led wherein the interviewer adapts the questions based on responses from the child. Does your organization use a specific protocol. Yes, it involves ...

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOICH&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW&AW=1326855514792 TOI, Chennai Jan. 18, 2012   Untrained Medical Examiners Add To The Ordeal Of Sexually Abused Children Karthika Gopalakrishnan | TNN Chennai: A four-year-old girl from Kallakurichi in Villupuram district was in the spotlight last week, with the Madras high court looking into claims of conflicting medical reports on whether she was sexually assaulted by two women teachers at her school.     After the incident, she was first taken to a government hospital for examination, then to a private hospital followed by a third examination by another team of doctors. While it is hoped the law will take its course with regard to the accused, what becomes of the child, who was subjected to unnecessary inquiry and trauma, only because the first doctor may have got it wrong?     This ...

To improve the response of dutybearers to allegations of child abuse, we are organizing two workshops in Chennai and in English - Basic training is for 3 days 23 - 25th Jan followed by a gap of a day and then there is the Advanced training for 3 days 27- 29th Jan. Anyone in sectors which overlap or work with child protection w ill find them useful. The charges are Rs 600/- a day and includes lunch, teas and training material. About the facilitator Jennifer Anderson, Associate Director of Corner House,( http://www.cornerhousemn.org/ ) is an expert in forensic interviewing of child witnesses. She has conducted interviews, trained others in interviewing and published articles in this field for the last nearly ten years. Her extensive experiences training professionals including cross cultural training both inside and outside the US; Of particular note is her experience training the investigators of the International Criminal Court. CornerHouse, a public-privat...

http://thecurrentconscience.com/blog/2011/11/14/now-give-your-uncle-a-kiss/ The shocking and tragic events at Penn State that have unfolded over the past two weeks, which have exposed former assistant football coach, Jerry Sandusky, as a sexual predator, have (yet again) brought the issue of child sex abuse to the forefront of our collective consciousness. In light of recent events, I want to discuss an issue, a behavior, that has bothered me for some time. It’s about how we encourage our kids to abandon their sense of self-trust–their instinct and intuition–in order to be polite through showing physical affection to adults. How often, especially during the holidays, are children confronted with moments like this one: a relative comes to visit and the child’s parents say something like, “Now, give your uncle a hug and kiss.” And when the child refuses to provide physical affection, or hesitates at the request, they sometimes hear things like, “You’re hurting your uncle’s...

With the multi disciplinary team approach increasingly being recognized as most effective in addressing crimes against children, it is important that NGO’s are also well equipped to work on cases holistically, with other team members integral to legal redress. Besides, a better understanding of the various issues related to engaging with the Criminal Justice System (CJS) in responding to sexual violence, it is also critical to their effective support of child victims. Furthermore since many NGO’s are also involved in training various stakeholders, they need to be familiar with navigating the labyrinth of the CJS. To this end, Tulir – Centre for the Prevention and Healing of Child Sexual Abuse with Tamil Nadu Police Academy and Police Training College is organizing a one day seminar NAVIGATING THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM (CJS) on January 10, 2012 in Chennai and look forward to your organization’s participation. Further details - venue, timing etc., - will be intimidated after pre regi...