KEY POINTS:
New research showing child sex abuse victims are being failed by the courts, with as few as one in 200 abuse cases being punished, has prompted calls for a new approach by the court system.
The research, conducted through interviews with jurors and a review of all sex abuse trials held in New Zealand between May and October 2006, showed lawyers bullied young witnesses, and jurors misunderstood abuse cases.
The Dominion Post reported juries were increasingly wanting corroborative evidence before convicting an accused even if they believed the child victim.
Forensic psychologist Suzanne Blackwell showed the court process was particularly fraught for children, as many defence lawyers used aggressive, misleading cross-examination.
Conviction rates for alleged sexual assaults on adults and children were low, with only 6 per cent of all cases reported to police resulting in a conviction.
Research suggested only one in 10 abuse cases were reported to police, meaning about half a per cent - one in 200 - cases of alleged abuse were punished.
Some lawyers appeared to engineer delays, knowing juries were less likely to believe older children, especially teenagers.
"I do think that the public and jurors think that the point of the criminal justice system is to determine the truth," Ms Blackwell said.
"But it becomes an unequal game between a scared court-naive complainant and a practised defence counsel."
Ms Blackwell, a former Justice Department consultant psychologist, found jurors seemed to want corroborative evidence to convict the accused, even if they believed the child's testimony.
The increasing demand for corroborative evidence has been dubbed the CSI effect, linked to the popularity of crime television shows that have convinced the public there will be a raft of forensic evidence in any crime.
When it is not there, they tended to acquit.
Through reviewing child abuse trials, Ms Blackwell found she could predict the outcome of a child sex-offence trial before it began with statistically significant accuracy, based on a set of nine variables.
If three of these were present, the accused would be convicted on at least one charge.
But if not, the accused would be acquitted, even if the jurors believed the child.
The variables she identified comprised whether the child was under 12 at the time of the trial; if there were more than one complainant; more than four charges; a witness to the offending; similar fact evidence such as a prior conviction; recent complaint evidence; penile penetration was involved; the accused had made some partial acknowledgement of guilt; and presence of DNA or other medical evidence.
Ms Blackwell said sexual offences should be treated differently from other crimes.
She acknowledged it was a complex issue, but advocated a more inquisitorial approach, whereby judges inquire into the facts to seek the truth rather than lawyers for both sides fighting to win.
- NZPA
