A pilot project in the Vaal Triangle to use therapy dogs for child witnesses in court has been hailed as a major success, Beeld reports.
Prosecutor Lenie Hanekom, of the Vereeniging Magistrate’s Court, says the child witnesses were exposed to the therapy dogs to prepare them for testimony and court personnel reported that all the child witnesses had reacted positively. She says some child witnesses are so anxious about testifying that they vomit.
‘I have been working 27 years at the court in Vereeniging and 20 years as a prosecutor. The court can be intimidating, even when children testify through an intermediary.’ Prosecutors then approached the group, Caring Friends Therapy Dogs, who provided dogs for the pilot project.
With permission of the court management, the dogs were taken inside the courtrooms and the child witness waiting areas. Hanekom says the children were all much calmer and more composed. The dog therapy group’s Petra du Toit says they are, as far as they know, the first group allowed in courtrooms and hope that other organisations will follow.
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