Soft skills in interpreters in the interview process involving cases of domestic violence in police interviews

Interpreters frequently provide legal or quasi-legal interpreting services in non-courtroom settings, such as domestic violence shelters, government social service investigations of children and vulnerable adult abuse involving hospitals, and health care organizations (Bancroft et al., 2013). A particularly emotive context for these encounters is domestic violence, with the Domestic Violence in Australia 2014 report pointing out that domestic violence is likely to be exacerbated because of continual immigration among LOTE (language other than English) groups (InTouch, Multicultural Centre against Family Violence [InTouchMCFV], 2014). Immigrants who suffer domestic violence and are incapable of adequately communicating in their native tongue need interpreters to bridge the language gap and help them communicate (Rajpoot et al., 2020). In cases of domestic violence, which comprises the focus of this study, the involvement of an interpreter may be mandated rather than an option. Police typically engage interpreters in conducting investigative interviews for domestic violence victims, witnesses, and perpetrators (Martin & Valero Garcés, 2008). Based on the guidelines Use of Interpreters in Domestic and Family Violence Incidents (Queensland Police Service, 2017), if there is an involved person having difficulty communicating, or the involved person requests interpreting services, then an interpreter is required. Situations involving violence do not only impact victims’ physical and psychological wellbeing; it also takes a toll on interpreters’ mental wellbeing (Valero-Garcés, 2005, 2015). Numerous studies have indicated that community interpreters are at high risk of vicarious trauma and secondary traumatization while working with distressed victims (Lai et al., 2015; Mehus & Becher, 2016). However, interpreters in Australia are provided scant education and training opportunities on gender-based violence issues, and this lack of exposure appears to be negatively impacting their work (Norma & Garcia-Caro, 2016). Drawing upon the interpretivism paradigm and phenomenology, this study took qualitative approaches to examine participants’ lived experiences. The qualitative research methods comprised the use of semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Results are expected to shed light on interpreters’ emotional wellbeing in community services.