Credibilidad de testimonio en víctimas de abuso sexual infantil para psicólogos peritos en Cuenca-Azuay en el año 2024

Abstract

In recent years, the advances of scientific and technical knowledge have increased in the legal field for decision-making in criminal proceedings, especially in cases of child sexual abuse. Due to its development, the aim is to prove the objective or material truth of the facts that are judged, demonstrating them with evidence so that the judge has complete clarity of what happened, who was involved, the role that each party played, and where and when the event occurred in order to attain the procedural truth with infallible results. This is necessary to identify problems in the administration of justice related to the conduct of psychological assessments and evaluations, which are often carried out inappropriately due to either a lack of a protocol or reliance on an outdated one as a guide. The objective of this work was to investigate and understand the experiences on the credibility of testimony in victims of child sexual abuse perceived by expert psychologists in Cuenca, Azuay in 2024. A qualitative study was conducted. The population consisted of 10 expert psychologists (public and private) accredited by the Judiciary Council of Ecuador. The semi-structured interview technique was applied to collect the information, which was subsequently processed. The results were obtained through coding, categorization, and validation. Furthermore, they provided insight into the experiences, needs, recommendations, and limitations regarding the credibility of testimony in children and adolescent victims of sexual abuse and its approach.