Evaluarea gradului de credibilitate şi sugestibilitate a minorilor, victime
Assessment of the degree of credibility and suggestibility of underage victims of sexual abuse by adults

Summary/Abstract: Investigation of children who have been sexually abused is a very difficult task which can bring about various errors with consequences for the justice act, abusers and their victims. In this paper, the author, senior researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Romanian Academy, critically analyzes the main studies focused on assessing of children’s allegations about their sexual molestation. The paper outlines the importance of special questioning techniques in child sexual abuse cases, to distinguish between true statements, allegations that are false and allegations where suspicion (of abuse) remains, dar evidence is lacking. The recent research on these issues is controversial and suggests different causes for fabricated reports of children (the suggestibility, “pseudomemories” or unintentional cognitive distorsions, manipulation by aggressors etc.). The author debates all these issues and concludes that special methods and techniques are required in the investigation of child sexual...

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