No fear in the dictionary of child witnesses

Mumbai: In the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack trials a 10-year-old girl has testified against Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab.

The law permits admission of testimonies of such witnesses, but how does it psychologically play out in the minds of those little ones?

Bollywood has often tried to portray the trauma that a child witness to a major crime undergoes but nothing can compare to what the 10-year-old who testified against Kasab saw on 26/11.

Experts say a child's basic sense of righteousness makes him or her a fearless witness.

"Being the brave one, doing the right thing and doing something for the country is what gives them the courage to stand there and say it," says psychiatrist Dr Anjali Chhabria.

Courage it was that made a young balloon seller help the police prepare sketches of the 2008 Delhi serial blast suspects and a four-year-old who identified his own father as his mother's murderer.

Recognising their importance, the Supreme Court also ruled that a child's solitary testimony can be used to nail an accused if the child seems capable of giving rational answers that do not sound tutored.

But testifying in court also brings a lot of attention towards the child, who is already burdened by the trauma of the incident. Experts suggest that this attention could hamper the child's healing process.

"People start asking you questions about it and the child may not know how to handle them and then people also put a lot of fears into you," says Dr Chhabria.

Child witnesses need to not only be lauded for coming forward with their testimonies, but care from their families and society to help heal the emotional scars.

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