VALIDITY AND CREDIBILITY OF A CHILD’S TESTIMONY OF SEXUAL ABUSE: A CASE REPORT

• Main Author: Antonina Argo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Associazione Italiana Giovani Medici 2012-03-01
• Series: Euromediterranean Biomedical Journal
• Online Access: http://www.embj.org/images/ISSUE_2012/averna_21.pdf

The allegation by a child victim of sexual abuse is, in many cases, the most important evidence of wrongdoing, especially in absence of medical or physical evidence or confessions of guilt. The Rorschach inkblot test is a projective personality assessment technique used to evaluate child witnesses. We report a case of three girls allegedly abused by the father, in which the psychometric evaluation with the Rorschach test did not give credibility to the testimony of the children. When interrogating a minor, it is very difficult to distinguish between a true and a lie. Indeed, many different elements can affect the dialogue, such as the child’s age, the events being discussed, interrogation environment, factors linked to the interviewer, etc. Therefore, it is possible errors of evaluation, misunderstandings or confusion happen frequently. The aim of this case report is to highlight that employment of methodologies and criteria recognised by the scientific community could simplify the acquisition and assessment of information from a minor.