Legal Questioning of Adolescent Victims of Violence and Exploitation: Lessons Learned from Developmental Science on Forensic Interviewing of Child Victims
McGill Educational and Counselling Psychology Distinguished Speaker Series
Legal Questioning of Adolescent Victims of Violence and Exploitation: Lessons Learned from Developmental Science on Forensic Interviewing of Child Victims
Research concerning children’s eyewitness capabilities has been highly influential. Findings are regularly cited in legal cases involving charges of abuse and have shaped policies and practices in child protection, law enforcement, and legal responses to suspected abuse. To date, though, minimal attention has been directed toward adolescents’ eyewitness capabilities, especially in relation to their willingness to disclose prior abuse and strategies to facilitate those disclosures.
This presentation will overview new research on legal questioning and experiences in adolescent victims of sexual abuse and those of sex trafficking, specifically how each type of victim is identified and questioned in legal settings, and how legal cases unfold as a result. Findings from studies of 1) the similarities and differences between the victims’ legal experiences and treatment by the courts and 2) development of methods of building rapport with adolescents to increase their reporting completeness will be presented. Recommendations for practice to improve identification of these potentially unique and highly vulnerable victims will be provided.
McGill Education Building, 3700 McTavish Rm 233
13 October 2022 1 PM - 2:30 PM
Jodi Quas, Ph.D.
Dr. Quas is a professor of Psychological Science at the University of California, Irvine. She is internationally recognized for her work on children’s and adolescents’ autobiographical memory as related to their disclosure and reporting accuracy of prior negative experiences, and on the consequences of exposure to family violence and legal involvement on youth.
