The Trauma-Informed Trial

The criminal trial (and broader legal system) replicates trauma dynamics. For court participants who have experienced traumatic events (such as victims, defendants and other witnesses), this creates a risk of re-traumatisation. The concept of trauma-informed practice aims to guide practices so that re-traumatisation is minimised and no further harm is done. While a number of conceptual frameworks for trauma-informed practice have been developed, these have limitations, including that a conceptual framework for application in the context of the criminal trial (and, indeed, the legal system more broadly) has not yet been settled. This article presents a conceptual framework for the ‘trauma-informed trial’. Such a framework will be an invaluable tool for those seeking to assess the extent to which existing criminal trial practices are trauma-informed and to inform development of trauma-informed reforms to the trial. In this way, application of the framework may assist to minimise the re-traumatisation of criminal trial participants. With further refinement, the conceptual framework could even be suitable for application to other legal system contexts.