18 The Linguist Vol/61 No/5
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FEATURES
As Sue Leschen interprets during a trial of coercive control,
challenges of working on a relatively 'new' crime with often
I
was booked by the Crown Prosecution
Service (CPS) to interpret over three days in
the Crown Court for the victim in a coercive
control case. There is no legal definition of
coercive control in the relevant act (Serious
Crime Act 2015), but the Home Office
guidance describes it as: "An act or pattern
of acts of assault, threats, humiliation and
intimidation or other abuse that is used to
harm, punish or frighten the victim." A
relatively new crime, it became illegal in the
UK on 29 December 2015.
Much of the job involved sitting with the
client in the CPS witness care suite. This
room in the court building is staffed by
volunteers and is a safe place for victims
such as my client (namely prosecution
witnesses) away from the public waiting
room, where they might encounter defence
witnesses (in this case, my client's estranged
husband and various members of his family,
who were there to give him moral support
and provide evidence as to his apparent
good character). The suite was equipped
with comfortable chairs, coffee-making
facilities and even a TV. Volunteers did their
best to put my client at ease and were very
interpreter friendly, offering me coffee during
all the breaks.
Once in the hearing room, my client gave
her evidence first. She told of her husband's
alleged controlling behaviour: checking her
underwear when she returned home from
work, not allowing her to have a front door
key or to keep her wages. He even used to
time her trips to the corner shop. Some
members of the jury were visibly upset on
hearing these details.
The emotional swings and roundabouts of
such a case affect interpreters too. In my
experience it is much easier to do a good job
when you feel sorry for and/or believe what
your client is saying. Obviously professional
interpreters do not reveal our emotions on
our faces or, generally, in our body language.
When we leave court, however, we can
express what we feel, and we all have
different ways of processing details that may
be traumatising.
I tend to talk about my experiences with a
trusted colleague, without revealing any
names or other identifying details. I have to
be very careful because colleagues may
recognise the case, as my (French) interpreter
group tends to interpret bits and pieces of
the same case as it proceeds through the
Criminal Justice System.
A case of control
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