성범죄 피해 아동의 기억력 및 증언 능력에 대한 일반인들의 인식

People's Perception of Child Sexual abuse Victims in Terms of their Memory and Witness Competency

The present study investigated people's perception of child sexual abuse victims, focusing on their memory and competency as witnesses. A total of 168 persons rated the degree to which they agree each of the statements on memory and witness competency of child sexual abuse victims as revealed in previous studies. As a result, the current study showed that people generally have accurate perceptions of memory and witness competency of child sexual abuse victims. Also, there was not much of difference between men and women in their perceptions, but men were more likely than women to be accurate about a few of the statements. Furthermore, it turned out that people believe the minimum age of a reliable child witness at the court to be six. Finally, limitations of the present study and future research suggestions were discussed.