I recently had to talk to a 10-year-old whose father was suspected ofphysically abusing him. I visited him at home with a police officer andhe began to speak about being abused. It is usual in these circumstancesto stop the discussion and arrange for a video interview to take place.Video interviews are conducted jointly by the police and social workersand are used if the case proceeds to court.
The child repeated the initial allegations during the video interview,but the information was limited. Relevant questions were asked but werenot expanded on. The child looked uncomfortable and gave shortresponses.
Further contact was made with the child and I saw him at school withanother social worker. During this interview he was very talkative.Within a few minutes he started to give significant information aboutother children who he alleged were also being physically abused by hisfather.
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