Influence of race and medical evidence on juror decisions about child sexual abuse

What is it about?

Medical evidence is not always obtained in child sexual abuse cases. However, jurors are often uninformed of this detail and weigh the absence of evidence in their decision-making on whether or not abuse occurred. Further, race of the victim also influences juror decision-making, as prior research has found jurors are less likely to believe African American victims. The present study found medical evidence also significantly predicted whether participants believed the victim or not, and there was a significant interaction between race of the defendant and race of the victim on victim believability.

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Why is it important?

Results from our study suggest that increased education and awareness with regard to the prevalence of, and problems associated with, reliance on forensic medical evidence in child sexual abuse cases could be valuable. Further, this research can help better inform jurors about evidence in child sexual abuse cases.

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