Supporting Evidence and Illusory Double-Counting: Recovered Memory and beyond
| Author | Penney Lewis,Alastair Mullis |
| DOI | 10.1177/136571270100500203 |
| Published date | 01 March 2001 |
| Date | 01 March 2001 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Supporting evidence and
illusory double-counting:
Recovered
bevond*
I
memory and
By Penney Lewis and
School
of
Law, King's College,
Alastair
Mullis
London and University
of
East Anglia
n a recent article in the
Law
Quarterly
Review,
we considered a number of
potential problems that might exist in respect of criminal prosecutions
for childhood sexual abuse brought long after the alleged abuse.' One
type of case that we examined involved the phenomenon of recovered memories
of sexual abuse. Whether socalled 'repressed' memories2 of past abuse can be
recovered has been the subject of considerable but inconclusive scientific and
public debate. After reviewing the scientific literature we concluded that,
although considerable caution should be exercised with regard to such evidence,
it was impossible at this time to dismiss categorically the views of those who
maintain that memories of childhood abuse can be both repressed and then
recovered. We therefore decided to take the middle course, assuming that some
recovered memories may be true while others may be false?
The authors are extremely grateful to Rosemary Pattenden
for
her many helpful comments and
suggestions. The usual caveat applies.
1
Lewis
and Mullis. 'Delayed Criminal Prosecutions for Childhood Sexual Abuse: Ensuring a Fair
Trial'
(1999)
115
LQR
265.
2 Proponents
of
the concept
of
repression have argued that victims of abuse sometimes 'repress'
all memories of abuse experienced as a child. Repeated episodes
of
severe sexual abuse can
apparently be dismissed from the conscious mind as soon as they occur and remain hidden
during the childhood years
so
that no one including the child is conscious
of
anything untoward.
Repression is not apparently a conscious process but is instead a subconscious coping mechanism.
These repressed memories are not, however, necessarily lost for all time, nor are they subject to
degradation in the same way as a normal memory. Instead a repressed memory is one that can
be
'recovered' at some future point in time 'when a stimulus triggers the retrieval
of
the memory'.
In many cases, the necessary stimulus is provided in therapy. For a detailed discussion and
relevant references, see above n.
1
at
268-72.
3
Ibid. at
268-71.
THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL
OF
EVIDENCE
&
PROOF
111
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