Citation

McLachlan KJ. J. Child Sex. Abus. 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10538712.2023.2219674

PMID

37249567

Abstract

This article explores how South Australian judges use information about child sexual abuse (CSA) victimization history and its potentially traumatic impact, when sentencing adult defendants. Past research indicates that sentencing outcomes may significantly improve if judicial officers are "trauma-informed." "Trauma" is the distressing impact of adversity on an individual's social and emotional well-being. Drawing from a sample of 33 sentencing remarks within which judicial officers have identified defendants with histories of CSA, this article applies a trauma-informed practice framework to explore the degree to which the sentencing of these defendants may be trauma-informed. Finally, the paper discusses potential initiatives to better achieve community safety when sentencing people with trauma from CSA. The findings are highly transferable, given the parallels in the sentencing calculus across countries that have a Westminster system of law.

Language: en

Keywords

trauma; victimization; child sexual abuse; adverse childhood experiences; ACEs; Offending; sentencing; trauma-informed