Perspectives of presiding officers and state prosecutors on the expected content of forensic social workers' court reports

Abstract

Sexual violence against children is a gross violation of children`s rights. Section 54 of the Sexual Offences and Related Matters Amendment Act 32 of 2007 stipulates that all South Africans have a statutory obligation to report any suspicion of Child Sexual Abuse to South African Police Services (hereafter referred to as SAPS). Corroborative evidence in these cases is rare. Because of this reason, cases of Child Sexual Abuse are often referred to Forensic Social Workers for further investigation, who, in turn, will compile a report on their findings and testify in court on the matter. During such testimony, Presiding Officers and State Prosecutors would sometimes express their frustration with regard to Forensic Social Workers' reports. This study aimed to address that aspect and to make some recommendations to Forensic Social Workers, based on the perspectives of Presiding Officers and State Prosecutors, regarding the reports they submit to court. To succeed in that aim, semi structured interviews were conducted with Presiding Officers and State Prosecutors in Limpopo's Capricorn District. The interview structure comprised of 5 open-ended questions. Since it was relatively small sample, the researcher made use of an all-inclusive sample. Data were analysed manually by the researcher. From the findings of the study, it was discovered that many Presiding Officers and State Prosecutors are not entirely familiar with what Forensic Social Work entails. This does not only complicate matters for the Forensic Social Workers, but it also means that their services cannot be put to optimal and effective use. The majority of participants does utilise Forensic Social Workers in order to determine if a child should testify by means of an intermediary, but it seems that they are not aware of the other roles of Forensic Social Workers. The findings also indicated that the participants are of the opinion that the reports of Forensic Social Workers may assist the court in some cases.