RT Article
T1 Swedish courts’ evaluations of interpreter-mediated child investigative interviews
JF Child maltreatment
VO 28
IS 3
SP 427
OP 437
A1 Ernberg, Emelie
A2 Löfgren, Charlotte
A2 Koponen, Linnea
A2 Magnusson, Mikaela
LA English
YR 2023
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/185117057X
AB Children can need the help of an interpreter if they are victims of a crime and need to be forensically interviewed in another language. Recent findings from practitioners raise concerns about the state of interpreter-mediated interviews with children. The current study aimed to explore how Swedish criminal courts reason when assessing interpreter-mediated and interpreter-absent (with children who are not fluent in Swedish) child investigative interviews. We conducted qualitative and descriptive analyses of written court verdicts involving 108 child victims who were evaluated to need an interpreter during their investigative interview. The courts frequently discussed issues regarding possible misinterpretations, language difficulties, and confusion. These perceived deficiencies in the interviews were often mentioned as a cause for assessing the child’s testimony with caution and, in some cases, as lowering the evidential value of the child interview. Possible implications for children’s legal rights are discussed.
NO Literaturverzeichnis
K1 child interviewing
K1 Child Abuse
K1 interpreting
K1 language interpreters
K1 legal decision making
DO 10.1177/10775595231162072