An Exploration of a Social Robot as a Digital Shield for Law Enforcement Interviews: Designing a Prototype.
Cryston Sahae, Shuang Gu, Yang Li, Elin A. Björling, Nichelle Song · Interaction design & architecture(s)/ID&A Interaction design & architecture(s) · 2024
Sexual assault (SA) is a pervasive societal issue, particularly affecting minors, women, and members of the TGQN (transgender, genderqueer, nonconforming) community. Widespread underreporting, fueled by a deep-seated mistrust of law enforcement, particularly among women, creates a formidable barrier, hindering survivors from seeking deserved justice and support. This paper presents the potential benefit of a social robot as a non-judgmental and supportive data-gathering technology, as a crucial tool in addressing the pervasive issue of retraumatization experienced by survivors of sexual assault during police interviews. The paper explores the preliminary design of social robots as digital shields, offering a supportive and non-judgmental space for survivors to disclose their experiences by analyzing the development process, user research, ideation, and concept testing of two robot prototypes: IRA and Pup. We underscore the potential for social robots and innovative technologies to enhance the support provided to survivors within the criminal justice system.