Community Living Project

I am Rebecca Seden and I am the joint Policy & Campaigns Officer for three charities, Voice UK, Respond and the Ann Craft Trust. One of our major campaigns is working for equal access to the legal system for people with learning difficulties.

People with learning difficulties have historically been shut out of the legal system, being considered unreliable witnesses, and therefore not being treated as they should be by the police or court system.

This is especially appalling when you consider that people with a learning difficulty are more likely to be abused than the general population.

We do not think that is fair, and we are committed to trying to change this situation.

Imagine if you have been abused, this is one of the most traumatic and upsetting times of your life.

Imagine then, if the people who you pluck up the courage to tell about the abuse don’t believe you, or don’t seem to want to help you because you have a learning difficulty, and your communication might be a bit different to what they are used to. You might be told ‘just to forget it ever happened’, and you might start feeling like the abuse is your fault somehow. The person who abused you goes unpunished, and is free to go on to abuse other people.

This has been the case for too long, and slowly things are changing for the better.

One of the big changes that have happened recently is an extension of ‘Special Measures’ which help vulnerable and intimidated witnesses give their evidence in court. They include

• Video recorded evidence
• Removal of wigs and gowns
  
• The use of screens so that the witness cannot see the person who is accused, and
  
• Giving evidence by TV link so that the witness does not have to come into the courtroom.

A vulnerable witness is someone who either is:

1. a) under 17, or
2. b) has a physical disability,
3. c) has a mental disorder, under the terms of the Mental Health Act, or
4. d) has a learning difficulty

One of the ‘Special Measures’ that are provided for in the law to help these vulnerable witnesses give their evidence is Intermediaries.

An intermediary is a go-between between the witness or victim, and the police or court. They are usually experts in speech and language, but can come from all sorts of backgrounds.

Their job is to tell the witness what the police or court is saying, in a way that they can understand, and to tell the police or court what the witness is saying in a way that they understand.

If you are a vulnerable witness in one of the categories above, you are not automatically entitled to an intermediary, but the court must consider whether you should have one or not. Of course you don’t have to have an intermediary if you don’t want one, it might not suit some people, and some people just will not need one. But it is good to have the choice.

An intermediary is not there as a friend, or supporter, but is just there to make sure that you understand the questions and that others understand your answers. They can also make a report for the court, advising them of what language is best to avoid, for example complicated questions which may be more difficult to understand.

The intermediary first meets you and gets to know how you communicate, whether it is by speech, sounds, pictures or signs. Then they can also get a feeling for what questions you could understand, and how best for the police or lawyers to ask them to you. They can go with you into the court if your case gets that far.

Some people, for example people who have been paralysed by a stroke, may only be able to communicate by blinking, and in that case an intermediary could help give their evidence by working carefully as the witness can ‘spell’ out their evidence with blinks.

Intermediaries are a huge improvement in the criminal justice system, and will hopefully make sure that you are listened to, and that abusers that target people with learning difficulties or children can be brought to justice.

At the moment, intermediaries are only available in six different areas of the country, and are running as pilots. They are available in Merseyside, West Midlands, Thames Valley, Norfolk, South Wales and Devon and Cornwall. They will be eventually be available all over the country, we hope from next year.

Perhaps it is because not enough people know about them, but I don’t think that intermediaries are being used as much as they could be. We need to let everyone know about them, your friends and families, and the police too!

Case Study – how an intermediary made a difference

A young woman with moderate learning difficulties reported that she had been raped. The police decided that she could not be a witness, because of her difficulty in communicating. Then the intermediary was called, and the young woman was able to give evidence with the intermediary’s help. The intermediary flagged up questions in the interview that were too complex and repeated some of the witness’s answers. She was able to tell the judge and lawyers what to look out for in respect of her communication difficulties. She also helped the witness to use pictures to help the witness identify rooms where it was alleged the offences had taken place. This case resulted in a conviction and the defendant received a 10-year sentence.

The Judge thought that it was very worthwhile using the intermediary to allow the court to hear the evidence of the young woman.

Case Study 2 - another success!

A 13 year old boy with a hearing impairment and learning difficulties was able to give his evidence with the assistance of an intermediary at trial. The intermediary ensured that the boy kept focused on the questioners, and he was positioned to lip-read from the TV link. The intermediary also repeated some questions and answers for the boy. This case resulted in a conviction. Everyone involved agreed that the intermediary and the report that the intermediary wrote contributed to the quality of the witness’s evidence.

What you can do to help

• Ask your local police force if they use intermediaries
• If they do - spread the word! If you know anyone who might be entitled to an intermediary if they are involved in a legal case.
• Does your local police force have training for interviewing people with learning difficulties – we think they should do.