Forensic Assessment of Child Abuse Testimony Validity

Posted on Dec 10, 2025 in Psychology and Sociology

Assessing Credibility and Validity in Child Testimony

The assessment of findings under testimony focuses on two primary aspects:

Defining Credibility and Validity

  • Credibility: Whether it can be concluded that the child, based on their story and other gathered evidence, was subject to abuse by the alleged perpetrators.
  • Validity: Refers to the accuracy of the details of the abuse, the extent to which the reported experience may be lower than what was actually experienced, and the degree to which certain external influences may have impacted the child’s arguments and memories.

Factors Affecting Accuracy of Child Memories

The degree of accuracy of a child’s memories will depend on many factors, including:

  • Time elapsed since the event occurred.
  • Number of times the child had to recount the events.
  • Degree of suggestibility.
  • Questions formulated by various bodies (police, judicial, health, education, and social services).
  • Emotional and motivational factors (e.g., wanting to please the person conducting the interview).
  • The conscious or unconscious bias used by professionals interviewing the child.

Accepting a Child’s Testimony in Court

The acceptance of a child’s declaration in court depends on several factors, among which we can highlight the following:

  1. The child’s adequate capacity to testify correctly.
  2. That their language development is appropriate.
  3. The potential manipulation that may have affected their testimony.

Validity Criteria for Child Abuse Allegations

I. Criteria Based on the Child’s Testimony

A) Description and Details of the Abuse

  • Giving precise details, repeated in one or more versions.
  • Sexual knowledge broader than expected for the child’s age or developmental level.
  • Detailed description of sexual conduct.
  • Telling a coherent sequence of events.
  • Stating in the description that there has been a progression of behaviors.
  • Consistency of the story with the child’s perspective, in terms of age characteristics.
  • Reporting that there has been no recurrence of abuse.

B) Context of the Abuse

  • Where the abuse occurred.
  • When it happened.
  • Where other members of the family were.
  • What the abuser said to attract the child.
  • What clothes the abuser and the victim wore.
  • Which clothes the abuser and the victim removed.
  • Whether or not the abuser told the child not to tell anyone.
  • Whether the abuser physically or verbally threatened the victim.
  • Whether there was use of force or other forms of violence.
  • Whether there was more than one abuser.
  • Whether there was more than one victim.
  • Whether the child spoke to someone about the abuse, with whom, and what they said.
  • Frequency and duration of the abuse.

C) Emotional Congruence

  • Expressing feelings congruent with the facts.
  • Reluctance to disclose abuse.
  • Feelings of shame.
  • Feelings of anger.
  • Anxiety, annoyance, and discomfort.
  • Sexual arousal.
  • Fear.

D) Other Testimonial Indicators

  • Spontaneity in the story.
  • Maintenance of the content of the story without changes over time and with different people.
  • The reporter of the abuse is a preteen.
  • Physical effects are described.

II. Information Obtained from External Sources

  1. Confession of the abuser.
  2. Obtaining medical evidence.
  3. Obtaining other evidence at the site (e.g., pornographic material, condoms).
  4. Existence of eyewitness accounts of the abuse situation.
  5. Presence of behavioral indicators in the child.

Determining Credibility of Abuse Allegations

Based on the testimony of the child and other sources, the professional attempts to decide:

Professional Assessment Goals

  1. Has abuse occurred or not?
  2. Are the data consistent or inconsistent with the occurrence of abuse?

Key Validity Criteria for Assessment

Key criteria used in the assessment of validity include:

  • Existence of medical evidence.
  • Inappropriate sexual knowledge for the child’s age.
  • Temporal consistency of the child’s story.
  • Exhibition by the child of sexualized play.
  • Inclusion of elements of pressure and coercion in the child’s description of abuse.
  • Exhibition of early sexual behavior or seemingly seductive behavior.
  • Excessive masturbation by the child.

Physical Signs and Indicators of Abuse

Common Physical Indicators

The physical signs and lesions or physical indicators most commonly encountered are:

  • Injuries to the genital or rectal areas.
  • Abnormal dilation of the urethral, vaginal, and/or rectal opening.
  • Sperm in the genital region.
  • Wounds on the breast, buttocks, pubis, etc.
  • Foreign bodies in the genital, rectal, and/or urethral openings.
  • Sexually transmitted diseases or pregnancy.