시간의 경과가 아동진술에 미치는 영향:미성년 성폭력 피해자 영상진술 조항 위헌결정에 대한 법심리학적 고찰

The Korean Constitutional Court ruled unconstitutional on the special provisions for Video evidence of sexual violence victims against minors in December 2021. From now on, child victims of sexual violence need to attend and testify at least one year after the traumatic memories. In addition, if an appeal trial is to be held, the statement is likely to be made after a fairly long period of time. Unlike adults, children experience the greatest rate of development, so it is necessary to investigate the effect of time on the credibility of child statements. In this study, the author investigated changes in child statements over time and examined whether the defendant’s right of defense could actually be guaranteed. Prior research represents that the children cannot recount past events in a sequential form yet they remember the details of the incident fairly accurate. Second, experts help to improve memory is needed to remind the exact content over time. Third, the accuracy of recollected memories does not differ greatly depending on the age, but the degree of understanding of legal situations and terms differs. Therefore, open-ended free-recall cues, and the use of Wh Questions produce accurate responses. Above all, the longer the interval between the occurrence of the traumatic incidents and the recovery of memory, the more the memory can be distorted or forgotten. Therefore a quick investigation and trial process are essential, so that the memory recovery process can be accomplished at the earliest. The legal and theoretical implications of the results and future directions for research are discussed.