And Gail feels the whole ordeal was exacerbated by the way courts treat children.. John McCarthy, the former Middle East hostage, yesterday joined the 13-year-old Syous Hussain (above) and other refugees, in a demonstration outside the House of Commons against the Government's Immigration and Asylum Bill. Imagine hearing a whole courtroom being told that."Samantha's abuser got 10 years. Even that could not prepare her for cross-examination: "They were trying to suggest that maybe she wasn't quite telling the truth. There should be preliminary interviews so that a child doesn't have to go through that ordeal unless there is going to be a case."Gail was fortunate in that she was supported by the NSPCC, which took Samantha down to the court and showed her around to reassure her about the day of the case.
But it was also said that if she had therapy, then it might count in the case, they might not take what she said as seriously. So we had to make the decision not to take her for therapy for these months and it was awful to see one of your children suffer for that long."She had to make do with me I went up to the library and borrowed some books But it was painful to me to listen as well. I thought as a mother I should have realised and I didn't for so many years so that must make me a bad mother."The video interview lasted for about an hour. She'd only met the police officer for about 15 minutes before the interview It was quite difficult for Samantha to express herself. After all, she'd kept the abuse as a secret for so many years and now she had to explain it all in an hour, reveal all these very personal, quite horrific things to a complete stranger. If you or I were in a position like that, we'd find it quite difficult, never mind a vulnerable child."In some cases children have a video interview and then it's decided there's not enough evidence.
"It took nine months before the case came to court after the preliminary investigation and medical examination."We were told we had a choice between counselling and therapy prior to the case. Criminal charges were pressed against her father and she was called as a witness."All the time she kept it as a secret to herself," said Gail. It is clear, however, that the 1991 Criminal Justice Act is simply not doing enough to protect children from what can be a deeply distressing experience."'She had kept the abuse secret for so many years and now she had to explain it all in an hour'Samantha was 11 years old when her mother, Gail, found out she had been systematically abused for the previous six years by her father.But finally admitting she had been abused did not end the pain for Samantha. The Pigot committee, set up by the Government in 1989 to look into video evidence, recommended that such children should be interviewed by a skilled professional with whom the child is confident.This skilled professional would act as an interpreter for questions put by the prosecution or defence, but the reform was not supported by the Government and at the moment social workers and police officers are expected to interview these children.Other reforms would include additional guidance on how to interview young and disabled children, the importance of preparation and its distinction from coaching child witnesses (at present 30 per cent of child witnesses have no preparation for court), and clarification about who makes the decision as to whether the child has therapy prior to the trial or not.The director of the NSPCC, Jim Harding, says: "The aim of the MOGP and videotaped evidence was to reduce the trauma for children having to appear in court.