Oitiva de crianças e adolescentes vítimas ou testemunhas de crimes sexuais: a perspectiva dos profissionais envolvidos

Abstract

Brazilian Law No. 13.431 / 2017, aims to minimize the suffering that children or adolescents’ victims or witnesses experience when having to reproduce in court the acts of violence suffered or witnessed. Among other protection mechanisms, this law seeks to prevent the child or adolescent from having any kind of contact (including visual) with the alleged author or accused of such crimes, or with any other person who may pose a threat, embarrassment or coercion. Special Testimony (DE) is the hearing of a child or adolescent by the judiciary, in an environment separate from the courtroom and with the participation of a specialized professional, usually a psychologist or social worker. Objective: The present study investigated the perspective of the professionals involved in the Special Testimony. Method: Seven professionals from different areas (lawyer, prosecutor, judge, psychologist and social worker) participated in an open interview, whose content was qualitatively analyzed using the MAX QDA Program. Results: Qualitative analysis made it possible to group the content of the interviews into 11 categories of meaning: 1- Professionals' concern about the Special Testimony; 2- Benefits; 3- Technical defense perspective; 4- Procedural aspects; 5- Professionals’ general perception about the procedure; 6- Perception of benefits for the deponent; 7- Perception of the elements that justify the benefits to the deponent; 8- Weaknesses; 9- Suggestions for improvement; 10- Professionals' perception of the victim's hearing before Law No. 13,431/2017; and 11- Weaknesses of the victim's hearing before the Special Testimony. Conclusion: The special testimony is an advance over previous procedures, since the report of the child and adolescent victim or witness of violence is xx collected only once, in a less aversive environment and before a specialized professional, which ensures greater protection for the deponent. , in addition to respecting the condition of person in development. This set of factors helps to reduce re-victimization. However, it cannot be forgotten that this procedure is still a strategy under construction and that it needs to be improved in order to produce broad benefits. Keywords: Special testimony; Sex crimes; Re-