UNDERREPORTING OF CHILD ABUSE: A CRIMINOLOGICAL INQUIRY INTO CRIMINAL JUSTICE BARRIERS

Abstract

In criminology, official statistics on child abuse are typically considered to represent only a portion of the true prevalence of child abuse. The difference has been explained in terms of the dark figure of crime. This article analyses the obstacles to this disparity in trial outcomes, including mandatory reporting standards, evidentiary rules about competency and corroboration of child witnesses, and institutional structures for investigating and prosecuting child abuse, that discourage or obstruct reporting and proof of child abuse. Drawing on the findings of studies on crime victimisation and disclosure behaviour, the article examines law in India, USA and UK to suggest that aspects of the criminal procedure that burden disproportionately on the child complainant and adult relatives who may report are identifiable as factors contributing to underreporting, rather than just discomfort and familial pressure on children. The article considers scope and boundaries of mandatory reporting regimes and the evidentiary architecture of child testimony. The paper also looks at the powers of law enforcement and prosecutors to determine which reports move to formal investigation. Lastly, it examines the attempts to minimise the trauma of involvement in criminal proceedings by systems. It takes a whole-of-system change, not just one thing at a time, to make a difference in the dark figure of child abuse.