Adolescent abuse is a topic that is well known, but not often discussed. While many turn away from the uncomfortable subject, others fight to bring this conversation to the forefront. Vanessa Parsons is one of those few.
Parsons has worked as the lead forensic interviewer at The Unzner Child Advocacy Center for the past 10 years. During that time she has conducted over 3,500 interviews with children who have fallen victim to different forms of abuse and neglect. Parsons interviews four children a day on average.
According to the National Children’s Advocacy Center, “A forensic interview is a single session, recorded interview designed to elicit a child’s unique information when there are concerns of possible abuse or when the child has witnessed violence against another person.”
“It is a tremendous act of courage for a child victim of sexual abuse, physical abuse, or witness to violence or homicide to come forward with their experience,” Parsons said. “Children often do so with the understanding that it will change the dynamics of their life at home or family, often at great sacrifice to that child.”
Oklahoma State Law allows for forensic interviewers to testify on behalf of children under 13 years of age. Therefore, 50 percent of Parsons’ role includes going to court and testifying in hopes that the child won’t have to.
Parsons said the purpose is to not only provide a defensively sound interview that bridges the language barrier between adults and children, but to also help the professionals working for them understand what each child has experienced.
“I believe in the practice of forensic interviewing,” she said. “I feel like it’s important, because not only does it reduce systemic trauma for children and help them through a really hard experience in their life, but also protects the rights of the accused. So we are not having people charged or convicted of crimes they didn’t commit.”
Parsons said there have been times she thought about moving on from this area of work, but when it comes down to it, she feels honored to work in the role and capacity that she does.
She said the hardest part about the thought of leaving is not being there for the children who come back.
“Children who have suffered abuse, especially sexual abuse, are so much more likely to be re-victimized,” she said. “Over the last ten years, there are children I’ve watched grow up. Children who come to our center and tell me ‘I’m glad it’s still you.’”
When it comes to the actual interviews, there are several protocols that are utilized throughout the state. Parsons most often uses the ChildFirst Forensic Interview Protocol which is designed for younger children. The protocol was created to be a child-led nonleading interview, so the interviewer is not introducing any information that the child has not already introduced within the interview process.
In the ChildFirst interview process, different media such as easel boards for the children to draw on or anatomical diagrams are used. These diagrams include prepubescent drawings of a male and a female without clothes on, so that each child can use them to help the interviewer understand what their personal experience was.
Parsons said that all forensic protocols are designed to, “allow a child to spontaneously explain an experience without adults interjecting their bias or their understanding of that experience into the child’s statements.”
The first step of every interview with a child includes rapport building in order to make them feel as comfortable as possible while also building a level of trust. It is also meant to help assess the child’s different developmental abilities.
“It’s a different way of speaking to an adult than that child has usually ever done before,” Parsons said. “Because in a forensic interview you try to strip any feeling of authority that you have over that child.”
During the rapport process Parsons tries to allow the child to explain who they are and what makes them special and unique. So once the interview is played in court, the jury can see that child not just as a victim, but also as a human being.
The next step is talking to the child about family and the different people in their lives, so that the professionals working with them can understand the dynamics of that said family and the safety within it. As well as, discussing their bodies, the things that happen to their bodies, and how different touches make them feel.
According to the Child Advocacy Center of Lapeer County, “Forensic interviews ultimately reduce the number of times the child would have to share and relive their story, by inviting everyone who is involved with the case to be in the same place at the same time. This helps the child who has experienced trauma to begin their healing process.”
Another piece of the puzzle is advocating for the children throughout the investigative process. While DHS and law enforcement are trying to do a job and are needing information from this child, it is the interviewer’s place to remind them this information affects the child heavily, and it needs to be shared on their own timeline.
“We need to be really sensitive about how we do it,” she said. “Sometimes kids come in here and they’ll just say ‘I’m not ready to talk about it’, and at that point, that’s okay. They sometimes come back a week later, two months later, and then they’re ready.”
Parson believes her role is to help each child understand that she is there for them and not their caregivers or law enforcement etc. She wants them to know their feelings are more important than anything else going on around them.
She said the most important part of her job is creating a place where each kid feels safe, seen, and is not worried about what they should or shouldn’t say.
