The judicial pursuit of the sexual victimization of children
| DOI | 10.1177/0269758016680867 |
| Author | Patricia Hernández-Hidalgo,Mª Jesús Guardiola Lago,Albert Padró-Solanet,Josep M Tamarit Sumalla |
| Date | 01 May 2017 |
| Published date | 01 May 2017 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
The judicial pursuit of the
sexual victimization of
children: How the criminal
justice system processes cases
Josep M Tamarit Sumalla
Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
M
a
Jesu
´s Guardiola Lago
Universitat Auto
`noma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Albert Padro
´-Solanet
Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
Patricia Herna
´ndez-Hidalgo
Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
Abstract
This article analyses the criminal justice system’s treatment of those sexual offences against
children of which it is made aware. The findings reported in this article draw on a quantitative study
based on data (n¼97) taken from judicial files from a province of Catalonia, Spain. The study
examines prosecution, trial and conviction rates, analysing the possible variables involved to
provide a better understanding of the reasons behind the successful prosecution of complaints
made. The study points to a low rate of prosecution, similar to other studies carried out in English-
speaking countries. This leads us to conclude that differences in legal systems do not give rise to
significant differences in dealing with cases. There is no evidence that a legalistic system such as that
of Spain acts as a restraining element against the influence of non-legal factors in the judicial
decision-making process. However, similarities with other studies are not found with regards
to some factors associated with it. The findings provide no confirmation of the hypothesis that
the Spanish criminal justice system is particularly reluctant to prosecute cases of intrafamilial
victimization.
Corresponding author:
Patricia Herna
´ndez-Hidalgo, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Estudis de Dret i Cie
`ncia Polı
´tica, Parc Mediterrani de la
Tecnologia (edifici B3), Av. Carl Friedrich Gauss, 5 / 08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain.
Email: phernandezhi@uoc.edu
International Review of Victimology
2017, Vol. 23(2) 123–144
ªThe Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/0269758016680867
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Keywords
Victim, victimization, child abuse, prosecution, criminal justice system
Introduction and objectives
The response of the criminal justice system to child sexual victimization raises two problematic
issues. On the one hand, there is the high ‘dark’ (hidden) crime rate, which means that only a small
proportion of offences are ever reported. On the other is the well-known fact that the majority of
cases processed by the system never reach trial. The main goal of this study is to analyse the
criminal justice system’s treatment of those sexual offences against children of which it is made
aware. To do this, it will first review the state of the international research and then, after a brief
outline of the peculiarities of the Spanish criminal justice system, set out the methodology and the
results of a study carried out on information taken from judicial files from a province of Catalonia,
Spain. Specifically, it examines prosecution, trial and conviction rates, studying the possible
variables involved to ensure a better understanding of the reasons behind the successful prosecu-
tion of complaints made. It also analyses the duration of criminal proceedings and the participation
of child victims throughout the criminal justice process and their possible influence thereon, as
well as the potential impact of the criminal justice reforms of 22 June 2010, which substantially
modified sexual offences against children.
A review of the literature
To date, most of the research on the criminal justice system’s prosecution of child sexual victi-
mization cases has been carried out in English-speaking countries, particularly the United States.
The results reveal the complexity of prosecuting such cases, due to the evidentiary difficulties
implied by the fact that the only witnesses to the events are the child victims themselves (Whit-
comb, 1992), the vulnerability of the child and the high incidence of intrafamilial abuse (Stroud
et al., 2000), amongst other issues. To this must be added the secondary victimization suffered by
child victims (Goodman et al., 1992).
Empirical studies coincide in highlighting the fact that a significant percentage of sexual
offences against children are never prosecuted and that the effects on victims whose cases are
dismissed are more serious in terms of anxiety and/or depression. Some works put the percentage
of cases dismissed by the District Attorney (‘DA’) without charges being filed at between 22%and
47%(Education Development Center, Inc. et al., 1992). Tjaden and Theonnes (1992) reveal that
83%of cases opened by Child Protection Services never reach criminal trial, whilst the study by
Stroud et al. (2000) shows that 44%of reported cases were not prosecuted by the DA.
The failure rate of complaints increaseswhen the abuser is a member of the same family (Runyan
et al., 1988). The majority of cases that do continue with a prosecution conclude with a guilty plea
by the accused, significantly reducingthe number of cases proceeding to trial (Chapman and Smith,
1987; Gray, 1993; Goodman et al., 1992; Smith et al., 1994; Whitcomb, 1992). It should be noted
that all of this is based on an appalling figure that appears to be especially high in some studies.
According to Russell (1983), only 2%of intrafamilial and 6%of extrafamilial abuse cases are
reported to the police. Subsequently, Arata (1998) makes it clear that only 6%of sexual abuse
victims report offences to the police. After the police investigation stage, only a minority of cases
opened reach trial. The study by De Jong and Rose (1991) estimates that the range of child sexual
124 International Review of Victimology 23(2)
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