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Assessing allegations of child sex abuse in custody disputes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 February 2019

Emily Schindeler
Emily Schindeler*
Affiliation:
Griffith Criminology Institute, Griffith University, Mt Gravatt Campus, 176 Messines Ridge Road, Mt Gravatt, QLD 4122, Australia
*
Author for correspondence: Emily Schindeler, Email: e.schindeler@griffith.edu.au
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Abstract

Risk assessments by expert witnesses appointed by the Family Court of Australia (FCA), and as informed by findings of any investigations by police and child protection agencies, play a critical role in the adjudication of custody disputes involving allegations of child sex abuse. This study focuses on the contribution made by these independent advisors as documented in the FCA trial transcripts of a sample of 62 such cases in the period 2012–2016. Analysis reveals that those responsible for assessing risk shared a concern for an emerging pattern of applicant responsibility for systems abuse, in conjunction with emotional abuse, as a significant child protection issue. It also raises issues for the Court when there are multiple risk assessments coming from experts who bring different disciplinary and organisational perspectives. As an exploratory study, the implications of these findings need to be viewed through the lens of protecting the best interests of the child.

Keywords

Risk assessmentsystems abuseemotional abuseexpert witness
Type
Articles
Information
Children Australia , Volume 44 , Issue 1 , March 2019 , pp. 5 - 12
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2019 

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References

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