Parents in separation proceedings face so many challenges they end up advising their children never to get married, according to a report on the Family Court by Parliament's Social Affairs Committee.
"This culture is weakening the value of the family," the report says, adding that the government had to help ensure a strong country with family values based on marriage between men and women.
The committee analysed the difficulties faced by children involved in separation proceedings and made a number of recommendations, including the streamlining of laws relating to children as well as the unborn in cases of separation involving pregnant women.
Some children as young as five and six are already on antidepressants because of separation-related stress, the report says, emphasising the need to make proceedings easier on them and reduce abuse.
"We have children who grow up knowing police stations as their second home," the report adds, stressing that children should not have to wait for their parents at police stations for access.
The report calls for the family court to become more child-friendly to reduce the trauma on children, who are the most affected by proceedings in cases of separation.
The committee suggests children should be assisted by lawyers in all separation cases, not just at the discretion of the judge, but says the role of the children's lawyer must be made clearer in the law.
Several recommendations aim to ensure maintenance agreements are followed through and suggest maintenance to children should continue until they are 21.
This would encourage them to further their studies without having to file a court application for such maintenance, as is currently done.
The Criminal Court should have the authority to order immediate payment of maintenance or payment within an established time and the courts should be able to deduct payment directly from one's salary.
The committee said police involved in issues of access to children should be in plain clothes, drive unmarked vehicles and put the interests and wishes of the children first.
While parents should do their best to ensure children keep contact with both of them, children who refuse to obey court orders on access should not be forced to do so, since this may lead to psychological problems.
Stress was laid on intervention by social workers instead of having more cases ending up in court, since there is already a backlog putting a strain on the court's resources.
The number of court applications related to separations increased by more than 450 between 2007 and 2008.
According to the committee's report, the Children's Commissioner should have the legal power to evaluate legal procedures and laws to safeguard the children's interests.
Mediators should be able to listen to children involved in separation proceedings alone, without the presence of their parents.
When no reconciliation bet-ween the spouses is possible, mediators should put the interests of the children first and help the parents understand they must adapt themselves to the needs of the children, and not the other way around.
The committee also made recommendations for changes in the structure of the family court, including setting up an information office which would provide the services of a psychologist and legal aid, as necessary.
Judges in court should be assisted by two experts to safeguard the interests of the children and sentences must keep in consideration that circumstances can change and they cannot be definitive.
The committee is headed by government MP Edwin Vassallo.