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Lee-Anne works as a counsellor and community
worker for Childline. She is passionate about
the need to prepare children adequately before
they go to court to testify in cases of alleged
child abuse. She also gives workshops in pre-schools,
as part of Childline’s outreach education programme.
‘To see a child sparkle
again, to see confidence restored - this makes
it all worthwhile.’
Lee-Anne
‘From the outside, the house looked like any
other house, but it was what was happening inside
this particular house which made it so special.
Just like children who have suffered the trauma
of being sexually abused, from the outside they
may look just like any other child, but on the
inside they suffer in secret.
‘During 2003, I chose to spend part of my third
year practical in Social Work at this homely counselling
centre, which had left such a special place in
my heart. After I qualified as an Auxiliary Social
Worker at the end of 2003, I was offered a position
as a lay counsellor. Since then, I have graduated
with Clinical Honours in Social Work and I now
work as a Counsellor and community worker.
Lost in a haunted wood,
Children afraid of the night
W.H. Auden (1907-1973), Anglo-American
poet, essayist
‘I am passionate about educating children about
the court process. If a child doesn’t know what
to expect when she goes to court, this could lead
to secondary trauma. Of course, this doesn’t mean
all children find going to court scary or traumatic,
some may even find it an empowering experience.
In the sample of children I observed in my Honours
research, it was mainly the younger children who
found the court process demanding; many teenagers
experienced it as being empowering.
‘Children who have to testify in court are often
afraid that they themselves will go to jail or
that they won’t be believed. They’re scared of
seeing the alleged perpetrator. If this person
is a family member they also worry about tearing
the family apart, being blamed for the disintegration
in the family structure. Teenagers and young children
alike are aware of family conflict. If a child
has a supportive adult with them this can help
to reduce some of the anxiety about testifying,
even when the family is in conflict.
‘Although most of the children we counsel are
girls, the number of boys who are being referred
to us is slowly increasing. Boys are finding themselves
more able to speak out. The majority of boys referred
to us fall within the 5 - 12 year age group.
‘When it comes to preparing a child for court,
it’s important to take into account the developmental
stage she is at, emotionally and cognitively,
to get a fair indication of how she will understand
and respond to the type of questions she’ll be
asked in court.
‘I usually take about four to six sessions to
prepare a child for going to court. In the first
session I introduce her to ‘who’s who’ in the
court, who the people are and what their roles
are. For example, many children confuse the words
‘prosecutor’ and ‘persecutor’, they fear they
may be killed, they don’t realise the prosecutor
is on their side. ‘Magistrate’, ‘Defence attorney’,
‘Stenographer’, ‘Intermediary’, ‘the Accused’,
‘the Witness’ - these are some of the other words
we look at.
‘Explaining the word witness helps to define
the child’s role in the court situation. Once
we’ve discussed the role of the witness, we look
at the other people, where they sit, what they
do. At this point I explain the in-camera room/small
courtroom, if this is where they are going to
be testifying. Children often think that going
on camera means they will be on television, that
all their friends and family will know about the
things that happened to them, the whole country
will see them. It’s very important to put them
at ease, to explain how the in-camera room works,
to reassure them that only the people in the ‘bigger’
courtroom can see and hear them. I explain who
the court intermediary is - the person who listens
to the question and then relays it to the child
in terms the child can understand.
She walks to school with
the lunch she packed,
Nobody knows what she's holding back,
Wearing the same dress she wore yesterday,
She hides the bruises with the linen and lace.
Martina McBride - Concrete
Angel
To help the child further, I read a story about
a little girl who had to go to court. At the beginning
of the story, this little girl is very scared.
Then she sees that the people at the court are
there to help her. Once she knows how everything
works, she feels a whole lot happier about testifying.
I often use story telling, to normalise the feelings
the child has about going to court, to explain
what her role is, to help her remember who all
the other people are and what they do.
‘All the time - I emphasise that all children
have to do is simply tell the truth and everything
will be fine.
‘Another topic I address is the difference between
the truth and a lie. For example, with a very
young child, I may show her a red koki and say,
‘This koki is green.’ She will then say that that
isn’t and that I am telling a lie. It’s important
for a child to know the difference between a truth
and a lie for when she has to take an oath (during
this process I also explain what an oath is).
‘Younger children battle with ‘how’ questions
and the ‘W’ questions: what, when, where and why
- particularly with questions starting with why.
I use play therapy techniques to introduce these
words in a playful way. I tell the child that
it may seem like the people in court are asking
the same question over and over again. All she
has to remember is just to tell the truth, even
if it feels like she is repeating the same answer
all the time. Or, if she doesn’t understand the
question, to say so.
‘Cross-examination is usually difficult and intimidating
- I encourage children to ask for clarification
if they are unsure of what they have been asked
to respond to. During the court process children
get tired, they get hungry, they may even need
to use the toilet. These things can break their
concentration and affect their ability to testify
properly. I tell children that if they need anything,
all they need to do is inform the prosecutor or
intermediary and ask for a short break.
‘In about the third or fourth session I take
the child to the court so that she can have a
look around. If a courtroom is free we spend some
time looking at where everyone stands. We have
a mini-role play, the child gets a chance to stand
in the witness box and I pretend to be the prosecutor,
then the child gets a chance to be the prosecutor
and I pretend to be the witness. (During this
role-play I steer clear of any information regarding
the child’s case and what has happened to her.
This whole experience is more about making the
court experience less scary than about learning
any details.)
Through the wind and
the rain
she stands hard as a stone,
In a world that she can't rise above,
But her dreams give her wings
and she flies to a place where she's loved ...
Martina McBride - Concrete
Angel
‘As I mentioned previously, going to court is
an anxiety provoking experience, and so part of
the court preparation is teaching the child relaxation
techniques. These techniques often make use of
fantasy. Through them the child can link to a
remembered story or scenario. This triggers sensations
of calm, helping her to breathe steadily, in and
out. In one of these exercises I ask the child
to close her eyes and imagine she is in a log
cabin in a beautiful forest. It is raining. After
a while she looks out of the window and sees that
the rain has stopped. In the distance she sees
a rainbow. She decides to go and find the tip
of this rainbow. I then ask the child to open
her eyes again, and pretend to walk barefoot through
the forest, to feel the grass tickling her feet.
She comes across a big muddy puddle and decides
to jump into it. She squeezes the mud between
her toes. At this point I stop, and really get
her to focus on squeezing her toes in the mud
- relax, squeeze her toes in the mud again, then
relax again. This process continues as she finds
more muddy puddles to jump into ...
‘An exercise like this can help a child whenever
she feels anxious, and especially when she’s sitting
in court. All she needs to do is focus on squeezing
and relaxing her toes, just as she did in the
exercise. I teach the child a few other relaxation
techniques so she can choose which one works best
for her.
‘I also give children a soft toy to take with
them to court, a doll that can be squeezed really
tightly if they become anxious. If they have a
favourite toy, I encourage them to bring this
with them, as a further court support - anything
that is familiar and calming.
‘If I feel a child isn’t ready to testify, I
contact the prosecutor and make my concerns known.
We try to liase as far as possible with the prosecutors
- to ensure that the child is adequately supported.
We also write court reports for our clients when
requested by the prosecutors and we inform the
court of the psychological effects the abuse has
had on the child.
‘The waiting room at the court is well set up,
with toys and a television. One of the main problems
is that a child may have to walk past the perpetrator,
or that the perpetrator’s family can walk past
and look into the room, leaving the child feeling
quite intimidated. There isn’t enough security
to prevent this happening, and it can be very
distressing to the child.
‘In preparing the child for court I meet briefly
with the parents to tell them what to expect and
how they can support the child on the day. I let
them know that in my experience these court cases
usually take approximately two years from the
time that the child has disclosed about the abuse.
After the court case, as well as while the child
is being prepared for court, I warn parents that
the child may become aggressive, or there may
be other behavioural changes, stemming from their
having to remember and speak about traumatic memories
- not an easy task. I encourage parents or caregivers
to have a treat prepared for after the court session.
‘I also prepare the child for the possibility
that the perpetrator may not be convicted. Here
I need to ensure that the child does not feel
guilty, or believe it is her fault that the perpetrator
wasn’t convicted, simply that the magistrate did
not have enough evidence to convict.
‘I have found that some families don’t know what
has finally happened in the abuse cases after
the child has testified - they aren’t notified
by the courts. We either have to follow up for
them, or we encourage the family to keep pressing
for information.’
‘Most of the Awareness & Prevention workshops
I do are with pre-school children. The main aim
of these workshops is to teach children that their
bodies are theirs and no-one has the right to
touch them.
It's 10 p.m. Do you know where your children
are?
(Public Service Announcement.)
‘The workshop includes the correct naming of
the private parts, informing the child that their
private parts are private, teaching children the
difference between good and bad touches, and good
and bad secrets. A good touch is one that makes
the child feel happy, warm and good inside; a
bad touch leaves the child feeling sad, angry
and confused. A good secret is one that has a
happy or good outcome, a bad secret is when someone
threatens you or makes you feel bad. I also teach
them the difference between good games and bad
games. Bad games are generally those games which
are played behind closed doors. And, most importantly,
I teach them that they have only one body and
that it belongs to them.
‘If a child feels uncomfortable in any situation,
we encourage them to speak to an adult, or to
phone Childline. We encourage them to keep talking
until they find someone who will listen to them,
who will take their problems seriously. At the
end of the workshop we have a special game to
teach them the Childline number - 08000 55 555
- and we ask them to use the number responsibly.’
For further information, contact the Childline
Centre on
+27 (0)21 762 8198
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