EXPERIENCES OF VICTIMS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE, THEIR CAREGIVERS, AND THE ADJUDICATION PROCESS IN GHANA

ABSTRACT

The current study used an interpretative phenomenological approach to explore how victims of sexual abuse and their caregivers experienced either the court or non-court processes of adjudication in Ghana. A psycho-socio-legal ecological framework was used to understand the multi-faceted layers by which the phenomenon of the abuse and the justice process were experienced. For both victims and caregivers in either the court or non-court processes, the research sought to answer questions on their experiences of the abuse, its disclosure, and how they coped. The experiences of key informants in their interactions with victims and caregivers were also explored. To answer these questions, a purposive sampling approach was used to select nine (9) victims and nine (9) caregivers who had been to court; as well as six (6) victims and two (2) caregivers who had not been to court. Thirty (30) professionals working in the criminal justice system and gender-related policy (key informants) were also interviewed. The findings were that victims experienced symptoms of post-traumatic stress resulting from the abuse. They also coped in both active and non-active ways. However, the non-court victims used more deadly approaches such as suicide ideation and attempts compared to the court victims. For the victims who went to court, although they saw their interactions with professionals in the criminal justice system as uneventful, they were perceived by the professionals as sometimes being intimidated and traumatized. The caregivers were also found to be the bridge between the victims and the system. They experienced emotional trauma as a result of the abuse and challenges in their contact with professionals in the criminal justice system. The key informants also experienced emotional distress in their interactions with the victims and their caregivers. They were also of the view that the formal justice system would serve the victims better with some improvements. The implications for victims and caregivers are discussed to include the need to focus more attention on non-court victims as well as the need for changes in the court process.