Ruth Marchant (April 1961 – December 2018) was an intermediary and forensic interviewer, and the co-founder of the organisation Triangle. Triangle is a national organisation focused on communicating with children and young people with a wide range of needs.

Dr Ruth Marchant
Born9 April 1961
Birmingham
Died12 December 2018
Occupation(s)Intermediary and forensic interviewer
Known forPioneer in the field of children's rights, specifically children involved in giving evidence to the police and in the court and co-founder of the Triangle organisation

Education and early career

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Marchant studied developmental psychology at the University of Sussex. She then went on to work for multiple charities and organisations working with children, such as Save the Children and Chailey Heritage School, before she set up Triangle together with occupational psychologist Mary Jones.[1]

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Marchant was behind many changes in the English legal system, making it easier to work with children involved in legal proceedings. [1] She was the first to use a tent for a child to sit in when giving evidence in court, and was behind the practice for barristers to move to the live link room for cross-examination of children.[1]

She has also co-written articles on responding to very young children when they may be at risk, non-verbal communication with children giving evidence, safe-guarding disabled children, and communicating with very young children giving evidence in legal proceedings. [2] [3][4][5]

Through her organisation, Triangle, she also provided support for children involved in legal proceedings.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Ruth Marchant obituary". the Guardian. 2019-03-04. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  2. ^ Marchant, Ruth; Turner, Lucy (2017-10-02). "'Opening Doors': best practice when a young child might be showing or telling you that they are at risk". Early Years Educator. 19 (6): 54–60. doi:10.12968/eyed.2017.19.6.54. ISSN 1465-931X.
  3. ^ Marchant, Ruth; Jones, Mary; Julyan, Antony (2012). Getting it Right: Involving Disabled Children in Assessment, Planning and Review Processes. Triangle.
  4. ^ Marchant, Ruth (2016). "Age is not Determinative The evidence of very young children in the English Justice System". Criminal Law and Justice Weekly.
  5. ^ O'Mahony, Brendan M.; Marchant, Ruth; Fadden, Lorna (2015-10-02), Oxburgh, Gavin; Myklebust, Trond; Grant, Tim; Milne, Rebecca (eds.), "Vulnerable Individuals, Intermediaries and Justice", Communication in Investigative and Legal Contexts, Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, pp. 287–313, doi:10.1002/9781118769133.ch13, ISBN 978-1-118-76913-3, retrieved 2021-02-03
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The Triangle charity.