| Abstract: | Six different categories of social science expert testimony presented by the prosecution regarding behaviors of child sexual abuse victims are described and analyzed in relation to national case law trends. Problems with the admissibility of several forms of such testimony are discussed in terms of legal requirements for expert testimony, prior knowledge of the issues held by jurors, reliability of the social science research regarding child sexual abuse, and the prejudicial impact on jurors. Finally, recommendations are made to limit the use of most forms of testimony (except rehabilitative testimony), conduct further research on certain issues, and convene a multi-disciplinary symposium and publish, in a reputable journal, papers from the symposium that analyze the issues, explore areas of consensus, and suggest future directions in this area. |
