Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://hdl.handle.net/2440/135203
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Type: | Journal article |
Title: | When good intentions are not enough: Professionals' perceptions of the South Australian communication partner scheme |
Author: | Hoff, S. Powell, M. Plater, D. |
Citation: | Australian Journal of Social Issues, 2022; 57(4):970-986 |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Issue Date: | 2022 |
ISSN: | 0157-6321 1839-4655 |
Statement of Responsibility: | Sarah Hoff, Martine Powell, David Plate |
Abstract: | Children and other vulnerable parties such as those with a cognitive, social or communication impairment frequently struggle to understand, and be understood in, the criminal justice environment. One way this has been addressed in jurisdictions around Australia and overseas is through the introduction of intermediary (or communication partner) schemes, whereby an independent third party assists vulnerable witnesses, and in some cases, defendants, with their communication needs. The South Australian Government introduced a trained volunteer communication partner scheme for defendants and prosecution witnesses as one element of its Disability Justice Plan in 2016. However, the scheme had relatively limited use and ceased operation on 1 March 2020. This study provides a qualitative analysis of stakeholders’ (N = 23 professionals) perceptions of how the scheme was implemented, the factors that constrained the usefulness of the scheme and how the initiative could be improved. Participants highlighted the need for a future communication partner service to include highly trained and specialized professionals situated within a government agency. |
Keywords: | communication partner; intermediaries; intermediary scheme; special measures; vulnerable witnesses |
Description: | Published December 2022 |
Rights: | © 2022 The Authors. Australian Journal of Social Issues published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian Social Policy Association. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
DOI: | 10.1002/ajs4.208 |
Published version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajs4.208 |
Appears in Collections: | Law publications |
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hdl_135203.pdf | Published version | 227.28 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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