Experts: Too many children enduring courtroom ordeal
Campaigners brand witness system traumatic
Thousands of children are called to court as witnesses every year in Scotland – under a system criticised as “traumatic” by campaigners. Figures published by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) show more than 4,000 children aged under 16 were called to attend court during 2017, including 205 aged between three and seven. Campaigners say the statistics highlight the need for an overhaul of an “antiquated” system, which can cause children who have been the victim of, or witness to, crime even more trauma by having to come to court and face cross-examination. The revelation comes as the Scottish Government’s Vulnerable Witnesses Bill makes its way through parliament. The bill proposes allowing witnesses under 18 to give pre-recorded evidence in the most serious cases – a measure which, although currently allowed, is not used as a matter of course. Our probe has also prompted renewed calls for the introduction of a specialist Nordic justice model, known as a “children’s house” or Barnahus, in Scotland. These places see child victims or witnesses interviewed, have medical examinations and receive therapy under one roof. Mary Glasgow, of charity Children 1st, said: “The numbers are high and significant enough for us to make the experience of child witnesses one of the key priorities in our work. “We are campaigning for a Barnahus model and trying to move towards a more childcentred system that recognises our court system is fairly antiquated, was developed in the Victorian era, is frightening for most adults and certainly really scary for most children.” Current measures to protect child witnesses in courtrooms include giving evidence behind a screen or via videolink. The new legislation being introduced by the Scottish Government proposes evidence will usually be pre-recorded for children under 18 in relation to cases such as murder, serious assaults and sexual offences.