The great insight of twenty-first century criminal justice is that while punishment must be meted out to offenders, equally important is support to the victims of crime.

 

This module will address the need for a coordinated and informed response from the criminal justice community specifically in the context of child sexual abuse.

 

Focus will be placed on the multidisciplinary team approach. Key members of the team’s composition and their roles within the team will be discussed, as will the role the judiciary plays. Best practices in forming the team, defining team members’ role and responsibilities, providing training to the team and dealing with burn-out and turn over will be highlighted.

 

Prof. Susan Kreston is a consultant on legal and human rights issues. She researches, guest lectures and publishes on criminal justice matters, with a focus on human trafficking and crimes against children.

 

Recently she was a Fulbright Professor of Psychology and Law (2013-2015) and Research Fellow in Law (2013-2016) at the University of Kwa- Zulu Natal in Durban, South Africa. Her first Fulbright professorship (2005-2008) was also in South Africa, focusing on issues of human trafficking and violence against women and children.

 

She has worked as a Legal Consultant to various United Nations agencies (UNODC, UNICEF and UN Women) as well as national and local governments and NGOs, working in Africa (South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Rwanda and Kenya) Asia (Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand), Europe (Sweden, Russia, England), Bermuda and the Dominican Republic on human trafficking, gender based violence, child abuse and related matters.