S01E09 - Marie's Unbelievable Story and Trauma Informed Interviewing

In August, 2008, an 18-year-old woman, referred to by her middle name of “Marie” filed a police report, explaining she had been raped. Two of Marie’s former foster parents started believing Marie was lying about the instance due to her calm demeanor, and these former foster parents reported their doubts to the police. After more hours of questioning by the police, Marie wrote that she had lied.

Was her experience real? Did the police coerce her to say she had lied? The police were extremely unprofessional with Marie and were not well-versed in trauma informed interviewing.

If you have been sexually assaulted, you can contact RAINN.org or call 1-800-656-HOPE

REFERENCES:

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/12/16/an-unbelievable-story-of-rape

https://www.ovcttac.gov/taskforceguide/eguide/5-building-strong-cases/53-victim-interview-preparation/trauma-informed-victim-interviewing/

https://cdn.atixa.org/website-media/atixa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/12193605/Trauma-Informed-Interviewing-Techniques-Presentation-for-ATIXA.pdf