He walks through the corridors of the courts oblivious to the commotion caused by his measured way of walking. He is not a judge, but his presence is required in many trials. Nor is it the police, although it provides protection and confidence to victims. And she has never been a witness to what has happened, although she is often the first to hear all the details. Yanis is a Dogtor, one of the dogs that accompanies minors in the Community of Madrid when they declare themselves victims of violence.
As with LÃo and D ollar, two beautiful labradors, the role of this gauge is to provide support to the little ones and encourage them to have the perception of a friendlier environment, considering how bitter it is the fact of having to go to his young age to describe brutal episodes in which the aggressor is usually someone from his own family environment in seven out of ten cases.
For this reason, Yanis is waiting at the entrance of the OVAD (Offices for Assistance to Victims of Crime) of the Community of Madrid. There, the victim is presented for whom he will act as squire in a session that the judges try not to last more than 20 or 25 minutes.
After the respective introductions, and an exchange of hugs and caresses, the little ones, many of them paralyzed by fear, are given the leash with which Yanis, who will no longer leave her side until the process is over, he opens the way for them to one of the Gesell rooms distributed in several courts in Madrid and where there will also be a child psychologist and the dog’s trainer.
It is decorated like a playroom with the aim that the children perceive it as a family environment without imagining that, from the other side of the glass, they are being watched by the judge, the lawyers of both sides, the prosecutor and a social worker.
This is the exact signal the Doctors are waiting for to spring into action. Since they recognize the couch as their work space, they get on it to sit on the children’s laps and offer themselves to be caressed, thus changing their role of squire to that of therapist.
The psychologist, with the help of a headset connected to the control room, proceeds with the pre-constituted test and verbalizes the questions agreed by all parties.
The aim is for the victim to explain his experience. Next to him, in a very discreet background, is the trainer who, unless the situation requires his intervention, will remain motionless.
But when their young age, or the ruthless sexual violence they have suffered, pose an extra barrier in the form of a taboo, the psychologist must bring together all his skills to overcome it.
“On some occasions, minors are offered to explain it to the dogs by ear and Yanis, always ready, lends her ear as a trusted confidant,” explains Vanessa Carral, director of Dogtor Animal, the company that for more than a decade he has been working both with dogs and with a team of psychologists and intervention dog trainers to help in therapies with children with sensory and neurological difficulties, the elderly or at risk of social exclusion and victims of violence of gender
Thanks to the microphone hidden in the work dungarees worn by the dogs, the account of the events reaches the ears of the judge and the lawyers, who watch the scene in the dim light from the adjoining room.
The goal of emphatically reinforcing the entry and exit of the courts obeys the fact that it is believed that memories at an early age “are generally constructed from the beginning and end of experiences.” The middle part, in this case the court testimony, remains in “a nebula that tends to be forgotten before the games and caresses with the dogs”, says Carral.
The Community of Madrid started this service in 2014 with a pilot test that has gradually convinced all parties. Since then, several dogs like Yanis have accompanied 528 minors between the ages of 1 and 17 during their forensic interviews in violence, family and education courts. The average in the first years was slightly above 10% of cases, but the demand for the service of Support Dogs for Minors in Courts soared in 2022, when it experienced an increase of 92% compared to the previous year.
Actions focused mostly on cases linked to violence (which accounted for 62% of all cases where the assistance of dogs was requested), followed by sexual abuse (8%), custody reviews ( 5%) and guardianship reviews (3%).
And with regard to the ages of the minors, the group that benefited the most from this service last year was between the ages of 8 and 10, followed by those under the age of 11 and 12. Although a service was also held with a victim who was barely a year old.
