This practice-based paper builds on a master´s thesis in social work exploring police experiences with facilitated interviews involving multilingual children in Norway. The study highlights how the use of interpreters can complicate communication and, in some cases, weaken children's legal safeguards during interviews related to experiences of violence or abuse. Findings point to challenges related to interpretation quality, insufficient collaboration between police and interpreters, and structu…
Read moreThis practice-based paper builds on a master´s thesis in social work exploring police experiences with facilitated interviews involving multilingual children in Norway. The study highlights how the use of interpreters can complicate communication and, in some cases, weaken children's legal safeguards during interviews related to experiences of violence or abuse. Findings point to challenges related to interpretation quality, insufficient collaboration between police and interpreters, and structural factors such as time constraints and limited resources. The paper argues that multilingual children risk institutional discrimination when systems fail to accommodate linguistic diversity. From a social work perspective, we emphasize that ensuring children's right to be heard requires structural improvements, including the use of qualified interpreters, better interpreter preparation, and interdisciplinary cooperation. The text illustrates how social work competence can help undercover systemic barriers and contribute to more equitable and child-sensitive practices.
