pontifÍcia universidade catÓlica do rio grande do sul/brasil faculdade de serviÇo social programa...
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PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO GRANDE DO SUL/BRASIL FACULDADE DE SERVIÇO SOCIAL
PROGRAMA DE PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO EM SERVIÇO SOCIAL MESTRADO EM SERVIÇO SOCIAL
MARLECI V. HOFFMEISTER
Special Testimony of Abused Children Special Testimony of Abused Children and Adolescents: Challenges for Social Work Intervention and Adolescents: Challenges for Social Work Intervention
Guiding teacher: Dr. Patrícia Krieger Grossi
Stockholm July/20121
DEFINITION OF SPECIAL TESTIMONY
Special Testimony basically consists of:
Taking the testimony of a child or adolescent who was victim or witness of child sexual abuse in a special room equipped with audio and video recording. This room is connected to another room where is the audience.
The child and adolescent who was victim of violence is interviewed by the social worker or a psychologist who will facilitate the process of getting a testimony within a perspective of damage reduction since the traditional forms of hearing the child who was abused was considered a revictimizing experience for her.
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Countries that adopt the special testimony divided by continents
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CONTINENT COUNTRY
AFRICA SOUTH AFRICA
CENTRAL AMERICA AND CARIBEAN
COSTA RICA AND CUBA
NORTH AMERICA CANADA AND UNITED STATES
SOUTH AMERICA ARGENTINA, BRAZIL, CHILE, COLOMBIA, EQUADOR, PARAGUAY AND PERU
ASIA INDIA, ISRAEL, JORDAN AND MALAYSIA
EUROPE GERMANY, SPAIN, SCOTLAND, FRANCE, ENGLAND, ICELAND, LITHUANIA, NORWAY, POLAND AND SWITZERLAND
OCEANIA AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
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General Objective
How the social worker´s intervention has being built alongside with the deposition of special testimony of children / adolescents victims of sexual violence, applied in the Brazilian Judiciary, as well as the perceptions of social actors involved in this process
Specific Objective
(a) Identify how the social workers intervene during the process of taking a special testimony
(b) Examine how children and adolescents who were sexually abused are heard by the Special testimony and experience this approach
(c) Identify the perceptions of professionals from the child protection network of services concerning the special testimony as well as the children´s parent´s perspective,
(d) IIdentify the path of revealing the sexual abuse through the child protection system before being heard by the Special Testimony and how children and their parents experience this process prior to this particular hearing.
Methods: Procedures and Sample
Research: QualitativeTools to data collection: Form and surveyResearch Technique with the individuals: semi-structured
interviewData analysis: Content Analysis (Bardin)
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Methods: Procedures and Sample
Universe: Courts of Justice of the States: Pernambuco, Espírito Santo, Rio
Grande do Sul and Distrito Federal (Brasília).Research Participants: -11 Social Workers that intervene on Special Testimony, being one of
them a male professional. -5 children and adolescents with ages between 9 and 15, all females. -4 responsible for these children and adolescents, being all of them
the mothers. -2 professionals from the child protection system who provide
services to these children, all were psychologists and females.6
RESULTS: Work Process of the Social Worker in making Special Testimony
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Commitment with Quality
“[…] because when we are qualified, we have more elements to protect this child[…]” (A10).
Intransigent defense of human rights and denial
of arbitrariness and authoritarianism
“[…] I understand as a social worker, my commitment with the their dignity, with protection […]” (A2).
Expansion and consolidation of
citizenship
“The work of the social worker, since its origins, is grounded on protection of rights to ensure the right of children/adolescents of expressing themselves without interference of third parties, without the presence of the abuser or lawyer, or judge, attorney. To listen to the children in a more nurturing environment […]” (A5).
Recognition of freedom Has a whole training to act in this project […] even because we are not a mere question reproducer of the judge, we provide the direction of the special testimony […] (A8).
RESULTS: Social Workers´s Narratives concerning their work with Special Testimony
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Ethic-Political dimension Theoretical-Methodological dimension
Technical-Operative dimension
“The professional has liberty […]” (A4)
“[…] I tried to understand a little about the dynamic/context
where the abuse has happened.” (A3)
“[…] In the end of the interview, I put myself to the willingness…”
(A3)
“[…] my commitment… is with their dignity, with
protection[…]” (A2)
“[…] respect the emotional conditions and the victims´development stage.” (A4)
“[…] We built up a protocol…” (A3)
“[…] in insuring the right of children/adolescents of express themselves, iwithout interference of third parties” (A5)
“[…] this is fixed by ECA (Chidren´s Statute)…… and for that UN convention, one of the articles says that she has all the right[…]” (A11)
“[…] we have to look for new kinds of approaches, that
follows the evolution of times […]” (A5).5).
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RESULTS: Social Workers´s narratives concerning their work with special testimony
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Work PrinciplesNarratives
Provide social guidance to individuals, groups and to the population.
“[…] Relating to their relatives, we inform about the methodology adopted by the Court of Justice (…), denominated Welcoming Testimony and forward, when necessary, to social services (…) social and psychological care, the victim and his or hers relatives.” (A4).
Provide guidance to individuals and
groups of different social segments in order to identify
assets and make use of them in
attendance and in defense of their
rights
“[…] In the end of the interview, I place myself available for hearing and, also make referrals to the children´s protection network, psychological treatment and/or another need that the victim/witness or relative/responsible might need it” (A3)
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RESULTS: PERCEPTIONS OF THE MEANING OF SPECIAL TESTIMONY FOR ALL RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS
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PERCEPTIONS OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS (FAMILY, CHILDREN, AND NETWORK PROFESSIONALS)
CONCERNING THE SOCIAL WORKER´S INTERVENTION WITHSPECIAL TESTIMONY
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RESULTS: NETWORK PROFESSIONALS AND FAMILY NARRATIVES CONCERNING THE PATHWAY OF REVEALING THE ABUSE THROUGH THE
CHILD PROTECTION SYSTEM
Final Remarks
There is a compliance with the principles and standards for professional practice contained in the Code of Ethics and in the Law which regulates the Social Work profession in Brazil concerning their work with Special Testimony.
Social workers have special knowledge and abilites to develop this type of intervention, looking as well to other family needs that may emerge within this process.
The training received by social workers to work with the Special Testimony is essential to ensure the quality of services to individuals involved in this type of intervention.
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Final Remarks
The social actors interviewed perceive the Special Testimony as a practice of damage reduction, therefore, the testimony of a child or adolescent concerning the Brazilian judiciary system through this method is chosen as a preferrable alternative.
The victims of child sexual violence indicate the importance of Special Testimony as a way to express themselves on a less traumatic and a more protected environment, in spite of the fact of feeling some kind of discomfort during the process of the audience.
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Final Remarks
It is concluded that the social worker when acts as a facilitator technician on taking the Special Testimony, do so aiming the protection of the child and the adolescent, so that, be valued as citizens of rights in the judicial process. Protection actions were taken place towards the child or adolescent who has been sexually abused that goes beyond the production of legal proof.
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Final Remarks
Only involving the whole society on preventing sexual abuse, we start to think in a world less violent and under new ways of social conviviality. A society guided by the principle of human dignity, with no ethnic/race, gender, age or sexual orientation discrimination, a society that respects all children and adolescents as citizens of rights.
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