Type:	Journal Article
Title:	The quest for truth: substantiating allegations of physical abuse in criminal prosecutions and care proceedings
Other Titles:	International journal of law, policy, and the family
Authors:	Cobley, Cathy
Keywords:	Legal issues;Child protection;Criminal justice responses
Year:	2006
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Citation:	(20), 2006
Notes:	This UK article examines the concept of proof and looks at the challenges in substantiating allegations of physical abuse in criminal prosecutions and care proceedings in England and Wales in the context of child abuse. The aim is to consider the relationship between the 2 kinds of proceedings (criminal prosecution and child protection proceedings) with their respective objectives of punishment and protection. Literature review, international law and case decisions are considered. When an allegation of child abuse is contested, the conflict has to be resolved before the punitive or protective mechanism can be applied. Proving abuse in legal proceedings with 2 key factors (the facts that have to be proved and the standard to which the facts have to be proved) in order to determine the outcome when allegations of child abuse are disputed, are discussed. Issues of causation and expert medical evidence are reviewed, along with discussion of case law in the UK. It concludes that recent developments may have blurred the distinction between the 2 systems (criminal prosecutions and the care and child protection proceedings), however, their respective different objectives remain, and justifies their conflicting or inconsistent outcomes.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/12729
ISSN:	1360-9939
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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