Specialized listening and the special testimony of victims of rights breach: psychology performance

Abstract

Specialized listening, testimony without damage and special testimony of victims of violence are practices that can be performed by trained professionals, including the psychology professional. The consequences of an revitimizing inquisition, when done inappropriately, is present in the literature reviewed in this paper. The article aims to describe the role of the legal / forensic psychologist, discuss the victims’ hearing in the current way with the absence of the psychologist, realize the operation of the specialized listening method, elucidate the pioneer testimony without harm and discuss the practice of the special testimony taken by a psychologist in comparison to the victims hearing in the traditional method, argue for the relevance of the psychology professional in preserving the victims’ rights. The work also brings the perception of the scarcity of updated studies on the subject, as the research was guided by 6 articles published between 2013 and 2016. Finally, it concludes that the legal/forensic psychology field is relatively new in Brazil and there are pros and cons considerations on the new methods of hearing. However, a partnership between the psychologist and the magistrate is required to adapt and improve the effectiveness of the safeguarding of the victims’ rights.