Q132: My child, who has learning disabilities / mental health issues, has been the victim of a sexual assault, what support is available and how will the police deal with us?

A child (anyone under 18 years of age) is deemed 'vulnerable' and is eligible for Special Measures to assist them to give their evidence in court. One such Special Measure, is the opportunity to have their interview video recorded. The interview takes place in a designated room and is recorded by an operator trained in the use of the video recording equipment. The purpose of recording the interview in this way, is, should the Court deem the video to be acceptable, it may then be produced as evidence-in-chief for the prosecution case (this is instead of the child having to attend court in person to answer questions).

The officer in the case will provide the details on the location of the interview, the rooms to be used and the persons to be present and of their roles. Interview supporters (for example parents or carers) may be present either in an adjacent room or in the interview room. Please be aware that in some instances, the officer may consider that the presence of a parent/carer is not necessary/required. One such example is when the parent/carer is also a witness in the case (perhaps being the first person the child has talked to). In such a case, the parent being present at the interview and hearing the full disclosure of the child could potentially be damaging to the case as a whole and therefore it is best that they do not attend. A further example may be where a child has told the officers that he/she did not wish for his parent/carer to be present.

In each case, ultimately it will be at the officer's discretion as to whether an interview supporter (parent/carer) is to be present at the interview. They will base this on all the circumstances of the case. If you have any queries in relation to the video interview procedure, the officer in the case should be able to assist.

For further information and support services, see the links in Related Information.

If you have encountered an incident that was motivated by who you are or who someone thinks you are, you may have been a victim of a hate crime/incident.

For example, a person is beaten up and whilst being attacked the offender makes offensive comments about the person's believed race or ethnicity / sexual orientation/religion or belief/disability or transgender identity.

Please see Q643 for definitions of a hate crime/hate incident.

The police take reports of these incidents very seriously and if you feel you have been the victim of a hate crime/incident you should report the matter to your local police force.

Reports can also be made online via True Vision who report it to the police on your behalf, should you not wish to report it directly. For more information, please see the websites in the Related Information.

Yes, it is an assault. An assault is any act that intentionally or recklessly causes the victim to apprehend immediate and unlawful personal injury or violence. If violence is threatened, there must be the ability to carry out the threat at the time.

In law, an assault does not have to involve physical contact, an assault may involve a threat alone. However, there must be the prospect of the threat being carried out immediately and for the victim to fear that the threat will be carried out immediately. If physical contact is made, the offence is actually a 'battery'.

Most people who describe an assault, are actually describing a battery - see Q479 for more information on this.