Secondary Victimization of Children in Israel and the Child's Perspective
| DOI | 10.1177/026975800701400303 |
| Author | Asher Ben-Arieh,Vered Windman |
| Date | 01 September 2007 |
| Published date | 01 September 2007 |
International
Review
ofVictimology.
2007,
Vol.
14,
pp.
321-336
2510269-7580/07$10
© A B
Academic
Publishers
-
Printed
in
Great
Britain
SECONDARY VICTIMIZATION OF CHILDREN IN
ISRAEL AND THE CHILD'S PERSPECTIVE
ASHER
BEN-ARIEHt and
VERED
WINDMAN*
t
The
Hebrew
University
of
Jerusalem,
Israel
t
Israel
National
Council
for
the
Child•
ABSTRACT
This
study
has
three
objectives:
(
1)
to
study
the
needs
of
child
victims
in
the
criminal
justice
system;
(2)
to
study
the
attitudes,
activities
and
provisions
of
investigative
authorities
toward
child
victims
and
their
families,
as
perceived
by
the
children
themselves
and
their
parents;
and
(3)
to
study
the
relation
between
the
assistance
received
and
the
child
victims'
and
the
parents'
willingness
to
cooperate
with
the
investigative
authorities.
We
conducted
an
exploratory
study
of
children
aged
14
to
18,
all
victims
of
violence
and
sex
crimes,
and
their
parents.
All
received
assistance
from
the
Israeli
Child
Victim
Assistance
Project.
The
study
is
based
on
self-reports
of a
small,
nonrepresentative
convenience
sample.
Both
the
children
and
the
parents
were
generally
satisfied
with
the
way
the
complaint
was
received
and
the
subsequent
investigation.
However,
the
perspective
of
children
is
not
necessarily
identical
to
that
of
their
parents,
so
it
is
important
to
address
the
children
themselves.
For
example,
the
children
were
considerably
more
satisfied
than
the
parents
during
the
investigation,
mostly
because
of
the
respect
they
received,
even
though
other
important
needs-
for
information,
explanations,
and
support
-were
not
met
by
investigative
authorities.
The
fulfillment
of
these
needs
had
an
influence
on
victims'
willingness
to
cooperate
with
the
police.
Thus,
to
reduce
children's
secondary
victimization,
authorities
should
institute
a
system
that
will
ensure
that
child
victims
and
parents
are
informed
and
receive
assistance
and
explanation
about
support
and
services
in
a
timely
manner.
Keywords:
children-
secondary
victimization
-
Israel-
victim
assistance
INTRODUCTION
While
child
victimization
is
not
a
new
phenomenon,
recent
years
have
brought
it
to
the
forefront
of
public
concern
and
social
research.
Numerous
studies
have
examined
child
victimization
and
its
consequences,
focusing
especially
on
its
prevalence
(U.S.
National
Research
Council,
1993;
Finkelhor
and
Dziuba-Leatherman,
1994).
However,
most
of
those
studies
neglected
to
acknowledge
the
complexity
of
the
victimization
phenomenon
and
its
elements
of
trauma
and
secondary
trauma
at
the
hands
of
the
legal
system.
Most
studies
of
victims
focus
on
the
trauma
of
the
crime
and
the
psychological injuries
incurred
(Tomison,
1996;
Lawrence-Karski,
1997;
• Dr Asher Ben-Arieh
is
at
the
Paul
Baerwald School
of
Social
Work
and
Social Welfare,
Hebrew University
of
Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem
91905,
Israel
(benarieh@cc.huji.ac.il)
and
The
Israel National Council
for
the
Child.
Vered
Windman
is
Legal
Director
of
the Israel
National
Council for the Child
322
Furniss,
1991
).
Such
consequences
are
referred
to
as
direct
victimization
and
generally
relate
to
emotional
problems,
physical
and
cognitive
impediments,
self-destructive
and
sexualized
behavior
and
psychopathology
(Whitcomb,
1992).
Secondary
victimization
refers
to
the
difficulties
encountered
by
victims,
especially
victims
of
violence
and
sex
crimes,
as
their
case
proceeds
through
the
legal
system.
These
difficulties
are
more
acute
when
the
victim
is
a
child
and
may
be
aggravated
by
a
lack
of
familiarity
with
investigative
and
judicial
authorities,
drawn-out
legal
procedure,
their
status
as
a
minor,
and
encounters
with
suspects
and
defendants
or
a
large
number
of
authorities
throughout
the
ordeal
(Whitcomb,
1992).
The
legal
system
in
Israel
(as
in
most
countries)
is
designed
for
adults,
with
the
exception
of
some
child-specific
legislation
and
procedures.
Child
victims
therefore
frequently
find
themselves
caught
in
a stressful situation
in
which
the
procedure,
rules,
timetables
and
language
are
unfamiliar.
They
may
also
be
asked
to
recall
traumatic
details
of
the
crime
during
the
investigation
or
trial,
to
answer
sensitive
and
invasive
questions,
and
to
convince
the
investigators,
prosecutors
and
court
of
the
authenticity
of their
testimony.
The
subjects
of
our
exploratory
study
were
drawn
from
a
unique
victims'
assistance
program
in
Israel
that
strives
to
meet
the
particular
needs
of
children
who
have
been
victims
of
crime
and
violence.
We
recruited
a
small
sample
of
child
victims
and
their
parents
to
study
their
secondary
victimization
and
their perception of
the
response
of
the
legal
system
to
their
victimization.
SECONDARY VICTIMIZATION
OF
CHILDREN
Although
we
know
a
fair
amount
about
the
direct
victimization
of
children,
we
know
very
little
about
their
secondary
victimization.
Much
of
our
knowledge
is
based
on
studies
focused
on
secondary
victimization of
adults
and
its
implications
for
children.
Secondary Victimization
of
Adults:
In
one
of
the
more
significant
studies
in
the
field,
Shapland
eta/. (
1985)
studied
the
needs
and
difficulties of
adult
victims
in
the
criminal
justice
system
and
found
that
the
police
failed
to
meet
the
victims'
need
to
be
informed,
consulted
and
treated
with
dignity
and
respect.
This
need
for
information
was
not
rectified
during
the
trial
period,
as
victims
were
not
informed
of
whether
the
offender
was
in
custody
or
free
on
bail.
A
common
complaint
regarding
the
courts
concerned
the
lack
of
facilities:
no
separate
waiting
area
for
victims,
no
one
to
direct
them
where
to
go
or
when
to
enter
the
courtroom
and
so
on.
Victims
also
expressed a
desire
for
more
support
and
assistance
from
police
and
the
courts
throughout
the
process.
The
study
identified a
mismatch
between
victims'
expectations
of
the
system
and
the
system's
assumptions
about
the
victims'
needs,
and
it
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