title: The court for sexual offences: perceptions of the professionals involved.
abstract: This article evaluates the functioning of the Court for Sexual Offences in Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa at the hand of the perceptions of those professionals most frequently involved with the Court. The findings suggest that professionals involved with this court tend to be positive in their appraisals of the sex-court system. However, the ability of the sex-court to remain objective and to reduce secondary victimization is called into question. Misconceptions with regard to the Court's current ability to contribute to the rehabilitation of offenders and the emotional recovery of the victims were exposed. The operational difficulties facing sex-court personnel are discussed and directions for future research are identified.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Centre for Psychology and Law, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
authors.forename: Stephen P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: Dap A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Louw
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001290:Attitude; D003289:Convalescence; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011361:Professional Competence; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012938:Social Perception; D013019:South Africa; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires