A charity has accused the Scottish judicial system of failing vulnerable children.
Children 1st said many children are left “traumatised” by their experience of court, and many are unaware of the support available for them.
There are “serious gaps” in the implementation of the Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2004, designed to improve children’s experiences of court, the charity said.
The criticism comes in the wake of a government evaluation report, entitled Turning up the Volume: Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2004.
It found that many children continue to be treated poorly, with some coming face to face with the accused in court.
Others received little information or support before giving evidence, or experienced long delays before the case came to court.
There were also problems with the Child Witness Notice (CWN) system, which tells the court whether or not the child witness wants to use special measures, such as a screen or CCTV to make giving evidence less traumatic.
CWNs were placed for only half the children giving evidence in court in the second phase of the study.
Anne Houston, chief executive of Children 1st, called on the government and those involved in the judicial system to bring about change.
“This report shows that, three years on from the act first being introduced, there are still serious gaps in its implementation,” she said.
“Children continue to be traumatised by their experience of giving evidence in court, with many not even aware of the measures available to help them.”
No cases in the High Court successfully used a remote CCTV link during the evaluation period, from November 2005 to April 2007.
The report also said there was a lack of data available about the number of child witnesses giving evidence in the justice system. To monitor the act effectively, more information would be needed, the report added.
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: “The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all witnesses, and especially children and adults who are particularly vulnerable, receive the support and advice they need to help them give their best evidence.
“This report, looking at the early years of the implementation of this path-breaking act, highlights the challenges presented to all who were responsible for putting it into practice.”