Ms Deirdre Kenny:

I thank the committee for the invitation to appear before the committee this afternoon. I am the deputy chief executive of One in Four and my colleague, Ms Maeve Lewis, is also in attendance. I have no doubt everybody here today has a common objective to improve the experience of vulnerable witnesses in our courts. One in Four welcomes the commitment of the Government, particularly the Minister for Justice and her Department, and the work done on implementing the important recommendations made in the O'Malley report. There will be other valuable recommendations made here today but I want to shed light on an aspect of this issue that is often overlooked.

I would like the members to take a moment to think about what it might be like to describe to a room like this the intimate details of a positive sexual relationship. Now think about what that might be like if that sexual encounter had been terrifying. The criminal justice system is relied on by survivors of sexual violence to in part to help them address their traumatic experience. In reality, we know the real cost to them is re-traumatisation. The law is applied to the crime, but very little attention is paid to how the system interacts with the personal impact of the crime.

One in Four has developed wide experience in assisting survivors negotiate the complex terrain that lies between their personal traumatic experiences of childhood sexual abuse and the legal system. In 2016 we completed a study entitled Only a Witness, which brought to the forefront the voices of the survivors, as co-researchers, in order to identify their experiences of the criminal justice system and to provide constructive analysis. Our observations today are based on our expertise and the voices of those who have been through the system. We hope they may be of some value to the committee deliberations.

Trauma is undoubtedly an invisible witness in our courtrooms. If we are to improve the experience of vulnerable witnesses we need to direct attention to how the system can integrate insights on the impact of trauma. Sarah from our study stated, "It was so inhumane. I never felt the system in any way valued me as much as it valued him - never!". There are a variety of experiences that can provoke trauma. The psychological responses people have to stressful events would be different for everyone. A person’s resilience, their support system, age and history will all influence their responses to the dynamics of trauma.

It is clear, however, that for many people the effects of trauma can be severe and debilitating. This is particularly so in the context of sexual and domestic violence, which happen in a complex relational context characterised by manipulation and abuse of power and trust. In the context of childhood sexual abuse, the child is subtly drawn into the sexually exploitative relationship, manipulating particular vulnerability, instilling secrecy, fear, feelings of guilt and responsibility in the victim through a process of grooming. This abuse can have a profound impact on the development of the child and the child has to adapt psychologically in order to survive. Coping mechanisms for those who experience trauma include: splitting off conscious knowledge of the abuse; dissociation or mentally cutting off during the physical act of abuse; internalising feelings of shame and self-blame; and rationalising and minimising the abuse.

Our courts require the witness to give a sworn testimony of traumatic events in an environment that often mirrors the power and authority dynamics of the person's past experiences of sexual abuse.

They become distressed and can only respond in the way they did to the original trauma. Harvard professor of psychiatry, Judith Herman, remarks that “if one set out intentionally to design a system for provoking symptoms of traumatic stress it would look very much like a court of law". In our study, Barbara described the ongoing impact of revisiting the initial trauma while giving evidence:

I couldn’t go up there and give my evidence again. I just could not do that. It’s one of the most awful things that I had awful trouble with afterward. I’ve gone to counselling and the rest. They had a booklet of the house where I was born and that house is in ruins now and they have pictures of each of the rooms and the rooms where I was abused. I’m still having trouble getting that out of my head.

Traumatic stress affects a witness’s ability to deliver a consistent and credible account, perhaps casting doubt on the reliability of their testimony. Some people experience flashbacks. A person can lose all awareness of their present surroundings and live through the trauma as if it was happening again. Unfortunately, people experiencing a flashback are not always aware what it is. This is something I and my colleagues regularly witness while supporting survivors in court. Self-harm is a risk factor rarely mentioned in this context but is a very live issue for One in Four staff when supporting witnesses at court.

In order to facilitate witnesses to give the best account of themselves in court, it is important to understand how the trauma is triggered in a court setting or at any point through the process. In our study, Anne describes her feeling of powerlessness during her cross-examination:

And so the powerlessness you feel of what happened to you just comes back again. I mean you’re totally powerless in that room, you can’t gasp. You can’t go Oh my god, you can’t go oh this is terrible. You have to sit there and be like a stone wall. Fair enough ... they can’t have chaos. But why the cruelty?

It is for this reason One in Four recommends an impact assessment be carried out on how the court environment and court procedures impact on complainant witnesses in trials of sexual crime. An impact study of this nature should examine the various interactions witnesses have with the system and its personnel, the likely trigger points for retraumatisation and how these could be mitigated. We have observed in court how language, tone of voice, the style of questioning and the use of silence are all devices that can either reassure or trigger a traumatic stress response in a witness. This is an area we feel deserves immediate attention. In our study, Sarah said:

I think overall I was probably on the stand for, give or take, four hours. I can’t tell you how horrific it is being cross-examined. To this day I can hear that barrister’s voice in my ear crystal clear. It feels like that is never going to leave me and my only saving thing is that I never once looked at him. ...if I heard his voice today I would know him straight away and it’s horrific.