Untested assumptions: psychological research and credibility assessment in legal decision-making

Abstract

Background

Trauma survivors often have to negotiate legal systems such as refugee status determination or the criminal justice system.

Methods & results

We outline and discuss the contribution which research on trauma and related psychological processes can make to two particular areas of law where complex and difficult legal decisions must be made: in claims for refugee and humanitarian protection, and in reporting and prosecuting sexual assault in the criminal justice system.

Conclusion

There is a breadth of psychological knowledge that, if correctly applied, would limit the inappropriate reliance on assumptions and myth in legal decision-making in these settings. Specific recommendations are made for further study.

• PTSD
• refugee
• asylum
• sexual violence
• decision-making

This paper is part of the Special Issue: Trauma and PTSD: setting the research agenda. More papers from this issue can be found at www.ejpt.net

For the abstract or full text in other languages, please see Supplementary files under ‘Article Tools’

This paper is part of the Special Issue: Trauma and PTSD: setting the research agenda. More papers from this issue can be found at www.ejpt.net

For the abstract or full text in other languages, please see Supplementary files under ‘Article Tools’

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Zoe Given-Wilson and Rebecca Johnson for contributions to an early version of the text.

Conflict of interest and funding

There is no conflict of interest in the present study for any of the authors.

Notes

This paper is part of the Special Issue: Trauma and PTSD: setting the research agenda. More papers from this issue can be found at www.ejpt.net

For the abstract or full text in other languages, please see Supplementary files under ‘Article Tools’

¹ www.epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/population/publications/migration_asylum

²See for example the UK Crown Prosecution Service at http://www.cps.gov.uk/news/articles/prosecuting_violence_against_women_and_girls_-_improving_culture_confidence_and_convictions/

³This was key in a widely reported case in the United Kingdom where a woman who was advised not to have any therapeutic support during a trial subsequently killed herself: http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/feb/09/frances-andrade-courts-son

⁴ www.csel.org.uk offers an online research hub providing a resource for researchers in this field and a place to announce new work. Contact the authors for more details.