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The Role Of Forensic Interviews On Children 's Capacities And Limitations

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Throughout time children have been sole witnesses of crimes either committed to them or in their presence. Leaving forensic interviewers with the burden of withdrawing reliable information in the hopes that these children can remember. Forensic interviewers are not completely aware of children’s capacities and limitations when it comes to communication, and therefore are faced to try to withhold as much information through techniques that will elicit testimony.
Historically, when children are asked to testify, it’s usually about being victims of child abuse and neglect. Child abuse has been around for centuries, but wasn’t addressed as an injustice to children until the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. However, annually in the United…show more content…
It all started with a call from a mother concerned that her child was having nightmares and not being able to sit. She accused one of the teachers at McMartin Preschool of child molestation. It turned out that the mother was mentally unstable and the police did not find any evidence to support her claim. The teacher was released, however the police department did decide to send out a letter to all parents within the community. The letter provided instructions to question their children about ever experiencing any sexual acts. In response untrained parents were then questioning their children, and as a result the “children” of Manhattan Beach made nearly 1,211 accusations. These accusations consisted of children not only being molested but also witnesses to satanic worship. Once the press broke the news, seven of McMartin Preschool’s staff was arrested on over one hundred counts of child molestation. As fear spread though the media, more accusations appeared about other day cares being involved in satanic worship and the molestation of children. The news released how children were being molested as young as two years old, how they have been forced in child pornography and witnesses of animal sacrifice. The children were interviewed at the Children’s Institute International (CII) in California. They interviewed nearly 400 hundred children
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