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The evaluation of retractions in sexual abuse cases
Author(s) -
Tully Bryan
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
child abuse review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.569
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1099-0852
pISSN - 0952-9136
DOI - 10.1002/car.728
Subject(s) - meaning (existential) , throwing , cross examination , psychology , value (mathematics) , false accusation , sexual assault , sexual abuse , criminology , law , social psychology , medicine , suicide prevention , poison control , political science , medical emergency , psychotherapist , witness , computer science , mechanical engineering , machine learning , engineering
In some cases of alleged sexual abuse, the child or adult retracts allegations made. This poses problems for both civil and criminal legal proceedings. It is argued that the collection and examination of retraction statements often does not receive the same careful attention as is the case with the investigation of the original allegations. Logically, depending on whether the original complaints were true or false or a mixture, so the meaning of a retraction may vary. Where retractions are examined and evaluated with care they may be shown to add to the confidence of the final conclusion rather than simply throwing doubt on that. A systematic approach is described, followed by three cases where such application assisted and paradoxically added to the probative value of earlier statements. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.