Protecting Your Child during Abuse Investigations

For children that have been victims of abuse, it is sometimes necessary to testify in a court of law in order for the judge to appropriately assign custody to a parent or to prosecute a parent for physical, verbal or sexual abuse towards the child. Even though there are times where this is absolutely necessary, it is understandably difficult for children, especially young children, to stand in front of a room of strangers and say damaging things about his or her parent.

One way to help children through this process is to hire a compassionate lawyer that can help your child feel comfortable speaking in a court of law. If you are about to pursue divorce or a child abuse investigation, contact the Houston divorce lawyers of Garg & Associates today at 281-210-0010 to discuss your situation.

Steps that May Help

Other accommodations should be considered in helping your child through this difficult process, including:

• Rearrange the courtroom activities so that they are more familiar to a child, such as allowing bathroom breaks or “snack time” for the child. This will give them routine they are used to and increased comfort to speak out.

• Allow the child to choose to not look at the accused face-to-face. A closed circuit television may help with this process.

• Make sure that all who will be communicating with the child understands that they should use age-appropriate terms and phrases.

• Consult the judge to ask if outside spectators can be excused for this particular portion of the trial, unless it is necessary.

• Make sure there is a reasonable limit in place as to how many interviews the child must participate in, or how long the sessions will take.

Because this is a very sensitive issue to families, it is imperative that all who communicate with the child practice extreme care in handling his or her fragile emotions.

Contact Us

If you are looking for legal representation regarding a divorce or child abuse case, call the Houston divorce attorneys of Garg & Associates at 281-210-0010 today.