The Quest for Truth: Substantiating Allegations of Physical Abuse in Criminal Prosecutions and Care Proceedings

The protection of children from violence is increasingly beingplaced on national and international societal and politicalagendas throughout the world. Although responses vary, measuresto punish abusers in the criminal courts and measures to protectchild victims in the family courts are common to many jurisdictions.When an allegation of abuse is contested, the conflict mustbe resolved before these punitive or protective measures canbe implemented. However, proving that a child has been abusedis a process fraught with difficulties. This article exploresthe concept of proof and illustrates the challenges faced insubstantiating allegations of physical abuse in criminal prosecutionsand care proceedings in England and Wales. In so doing it considersthe relationship between the two kinds of proceedings in thelight of their respective punitive and protective objectives.It concludes that, although recent developments may occasionallyhave blurred the distinction between the two systems, the fundamentallydifferent objectives of each remain and that this distinctionjustifies apparently conflicting outcomes in the quest for truth.