Sexual Assault Trials Handbook — Child sexual abuse and the criminal law

J Goodman-Delahunty, N Martschuk and A Cossins, “What Australian jurors know and do not know about evidence of child sexual abuse” (2017) 41 Crim LJ 86.

Non-empanelled jurors responded to a series of brief statements about forensically relevant issues common to many child sexual abuse cases. They were asked to indicate the extent to which they agreed with statements about typical evidential features of child sexual offences, children’s responses to sexual abuse, and the suggestibility and reliability of child witnesses. Results indicated the content of jurors’ knowledge, as well as matters about which they are unsure and need guidance. Three key issues fell into the second category: more than half of the jurors did not know or were uncertain about evidence contemporaneous with the alleged abuse, the reliability of children’s evidence and children’s post-abuse reactions.