The Extension of Pre-recorded Cross-examination and Related Special Measures to Adult 'Intimidated' Complainants in Sex Offence Cases

预先录音的交叉询问使易受伤害和受到恐吓的证人能够记录其证据，从而使他们不必在刑事审判中作证。这是在英格兰和威尔士实行的最深远和最重要的“特别措施”。然而，人们对这一新的特别措施在实践中如何发挥作用，特别是在性犯罪案件中如何发挥作用知之甚少。我的博士研究了在性犯罪案件中对成年投诉人使用预先录制的盘问。我有兴趣了解它如何影响对投诉人的待遇和询问，以及在审前听证会上发生了什么，因为交叉询问是预先录制的。我还想探讨预先记录申诉人的证据如何影响刑事审判，因为证人证词传统上是“现场”和亲自提供的。我的研究对于理解预先记录的盘问很重要，因为我观察到一些最初的案件，预先记录的盘问被用于性犯罪案件的投诉人。我还采访了大律师，以了解法律的专业人士如何理解这项措施。我发现，预先记录的交叉询问在性犯罪案件中并不起作用，法律需要更一致地适用。我的一些研究结果也与政府计划扩大预先录制的盘问家庭暴力的受害者有关。ESRC奖学金将帮助我向不同的受众传达我的博士研究结果，以塑造法律的发展，政策和指导在这个新兴领域。它也将支持我提高我的研究和写作技能，在我的学术生涯的下一阶段取得成功。在奖学金期间，我将根据我的博士学位撰写关于投诉人在获得预先记录的交叉询问方面面临的障碍以及这一新措施对刑事审判的影响的文章。这将发展关于特别措施的文献，并了解在性犯罪案件中对投诉人适用预先录音的盘问。我将在牛津大学的年度社会法律研究协会会议和社会法律讨论小组上向学者们介绍这些论文。我的研究表明，法官和大律师并不总是知道关于预先记录的交叉询问的法律，所以我将为学者和法律的专业人士写一篇文章，讨论一些关于预先记录的交叉询问的主要问题。我将开始关于在这一领域的最佳实践的发展对话，并为此目的在牛津大学社会法律研究中心组织一次研讨会。在读博士期间，我还发现，投诉人缺乏关于预先记录的交叉询问的信息，这使得他们难以决定使用哪种特殊措施来帮助他们作证。我将与性侵犯转介中心、强奸危机中心协商，并与投诉人合作制作一段关于预先录制的盘问的视频，以帮助投诉人决定哪种特别措施最适合他们。视频将有字幕，我也将制作一个传单，以配合视频，使信息更容易访问和消化不同的人。这些材料将在网上公开提供。我将为学者、运动团体和咨询机构举行一次在线发布会，以提高对视频和传单的认识，并讨论我关于成年投诉人获得资格和获得特别措施的障碍的调查结果。最后，在奖学金期间，我将与学者，专业人士和社区组织合作，建立我的网络，提高我的研究技能，成为一个更好的研究员。我将申请进一步的“早期职业资助”，以继续我在预先记录的盘问及其更广泛的推广方面的工作，包括家庭暴力的投诉人。

Pre-recorded cross-examination enables vulnerable and intimidated witnesses to record their evidence so that they do not have to testify at a criminal trial. It is the most far-reaching and significant 'special measure' to be introduced in England and Wales. However, very little is known about how this new special measure works in practice, especially in sex offence cases. My PhD investigated the use of pre-recorded cross-examination for adult complainants in sex offence cases. I was interested in understanding how it affected the treatment and questioning of complainants and what happened at pre-trial hearings where cross-examination was pre-recorded. I also wanted to explore how pre-recording the complainant's evidence affects criminal trials because witness testimony has traditionally been given 'live' and in-person. My research is important in understanding pre-recorded cross-examination because I observed some of the first cases where pre-recorded cross-examination was used for complainants in sex offence cases. I also interviewed barristers to understand how legal professionals understood the measure. I found that pre-recorded cross-examination was not working as well as it could be in sex offence cases and that the law needs to be applied more consistently. Some of my findings are also relevant to government plans to extend pre-recorded cross-examination to victims of domestic violence.The ESRC Fellowship will help me to communicate my PhD findings to different audiences, to shape the development of law, policy and guidance in this emerging area. It will also support me to improve my research and writing skills to succeed in the next stage of my academic career. During the Fellowship I will write articles based on my PhD about the barriers complainants face in accessing pre-recorded cross-examination and the impact of this new measure on criminal trials. This will develop the literature on special measures and understanding of the application of pre-recorded cross-examination to complainants in sex offence cases. I will present these papers to academics at the annual Socio-Legal Studies Association Conference and the Socio-Legal Discussion Group at the University of Oxford. My research suggests that judges and barristers were not always aware of the law on pre-recorded cross-examination so I will write an article for academics and legal professionals dealing with some of the major concerns about pre-recorded cross-examination. I will start a conversation about the development of best practice in this area and organise a seminar at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Oxford, for this purpose. During my PhD, I also found that complainants lack information about pre-recorded cross-examination, which makes it difficult for them to decide which special measure to use to help them testify. I will consult with Sexual Assault Referral Centres, Rape Crisis Centres and work with complainants to make a video about pre-recorded cross-examination, to help complainants make decisions about which special measure would work best for them. The video will have captions and I will also produce a leaflet to accompany the video to make the information easier to access and digest for different people. These materials will be made publicly available online. I will hold an online launch for academics, campaign groups and advice agencies to raise awareness of the video and leaflet, and to discuss my findings on barriers to eligibility and access to special measures for adult complainants. Lastly, I will work with academics, professionals and community organisations during the Fellowship to build my network, improve my research skills and become a better researcher. I will apply for further 'Early Careers Funding' to continue my work on pre-recorded cross-examination and its wider roll-out, including for complainants of domestic violence.