Legal Societal System Intervention Trauma to Child Sexual Abuse Victims Following Disclosure in the Lusaka Urban District of Zambia

Abstract

The rigorous hospital, police and legal procedures through which sexually abused children go through can further increase the level of trauma if not done professionally. If these procedures are performed in a sensitive and knowledgeable manner this can lead to an expedited healing process for the child who is sexually traumatised. Trauma is not just a health hazard but a condition that can impair full disclosure of required details by a child who has been sexually abused. In Phase 1, four in-depth case studies of children who were sexually abused were carried out using the qualitative method of one to one oral interviews. Phase II involved an investigation into the relationship between societal interventions such as court procedures and trauma levels in fifty sexually abused children. The tool that was used to assess or to measure the level of trauma and determine the amount of stress experienced by each child was the Trauma Symptoms Checklist for children. This instrument was developed by John Biere (1989). The data obtained was analysed using descriptive analysis. The police officers, the social workers and health workers indicated that they had interviewed 50 per cent of the sexually abused children three times while the remaining 10 per cent reported to have been interviewed more than three times. It was further reported that each child had an average of three cross examinations in the courts of law. The Trauma Symptoms Check List revealed that twenty five (50%) of sexually abused children who had been separated from their primary care-givers exhibited more stress and trauma than their counterparts. It was also found that fifteen of the sexually abused children who were taken to the juvenile courts of law exhibited less stress and trauma than their colleagues who were taken to the regular adult courts. It was also observed that 75 per cent of the sexually abused children who indicated that they had trusting relationships with the professionals expressed being at ease with them. This study indicates that certain types of societal system interventions such as multiple questioning, more than three interviews, child-mother or care-giver separation, inadequate trust during the investigation, court procedures and social service phases, further traumatised sexually abused children.