‘COURT A STEP IN RIGHT DIRECTION’
Officials handling child victims should be qualified, says rights group
CHILD rights groups have commended the establishment of the special court to hear cases of sex crimes against children. The groups said the initiative needed to be complemented with more follow-ups to ensure the sustainability of the court process.
United Nations Children’s Fund child protection specialist Selvi Supramaniam said having the court was a step in the right direction.
“We have to be very thorough and work in the best interest of the children,” she told the New Straits Times here yesterday.
Selvi said officials handling child victims, such as judges, deputy public prosecutors, lawyers and welfare personnel should be sufficiently trained and qualified to minimise the trauma of the children.
“It cannot be a oneoff effort and has to be consistent with proper structure and specific training to ensure that the officials are sensitive to the children’s needs.”
Selvi said the government should look into the ground rules adopted by the United Kingdom, such as providing a list of questions to the judges for approval.
“The judges will decide which questions are allowed and those to be dropped if the court deems them to be distressing to the children.”
Voice of the Children director Sharmila Sekaran said it was a refreshing move to have the special court as it addressed the needs of child witnesses.
“It has a nice evidence room where children will give their testimony via a video link.” She said the room was also connected to a lounge room with a television set and toys for the children.
“This allows children to be relaxed and give evidence without the pressure of being in a normal courtroom. It is as though they are visiting someone’s house to play in,” she said.
However, Sharmila said, if the government planned to build more of such courts, it should not be too elaborate as it would be costly.
“If they come from a poor background, they may be overwhelmed by the environment.”