El Salvador: ICITAP Partners with OPDAT on Virtual Conference on Forensic Interviewing of Children and Adolescent Victims of Crime

On April 24, ICITAP, OPDAT, and the Dr. Antonio Zeledón Castrillo Judicial Training School in San Salvador sponsored an on-line conference on the “Forensic Interview of Children and Adolescent Victims of Crime.”  The invitation was made by the Director of the Judicial Training School.  The conference was hosted via Adobe Connect by the School, and the conference was delivered by ICITAP-Mexico’s Attaché, a subject matter expert in the Forensic Interview, who was invited to the conference by OPDAT-El Salvador’s Resident Legal Advisor (RLA). OPDAT-El Salvador engages judges and prosecutors with assistance focused on increasing the effectiveness of the El Salvador Justice System in addressing issues, such as Trafficking in Persons.  The 90-minute conference to 350 participants - judges, prosecutors, psychologists, child protection specialists, social workers, and students - was followed by a 30-minute question-and-answer session, leading to deeper understanding of interviewing children with challenges, the advantages of a multidisciplinary team, and the importance of a post-interview criminal investigation for corroboration.  The online conference was closed by remarks from ICITAP-Mexico’s Attaché and OPDAT-El Salvador’s RLA.