Children in separation cases 'crying out' to be heard

Children are "crying out" to be heard in separation cases but they do not seem to be given a voice by the law courts, Commissioner for Children Sonia Camilleri told The Times.

"Children are hardly ever asked which parent they would like to live with and how often they would like to see the other parent, if at all," she said.

"Some children either do not want to visit one parent whom they are being forced to visit or they desperately want to see a parent whom they are not being allowed to see enough of," she pointed out.

This, she said, goes against Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that the opinion of children in matters directly related to them must be sought and seriously taken into consideration.

This article creates a lot of discussion during a course that her office organises to inform children about their rights. Since her appointment in December 2003, Mrs Camilleri has met several children, making it her mission to listen to them and invite them to go to her primarily with ideas and suggestions, and then if need be, also with problems.

Asked whether giving a voice to the children in such cases could open the doors to animosity between the parents, Mrs Camilleri said one of the judges at the Family Court is aware of this reality and insists on speaking to the children on their own. But, she went on, not all judges make it a point to listen to children, with many taking the easier way out, basing their decision exclusively on reports drawn up by psychologists or social workers.

Another problem is that there are not enough social workers and psychologists to deal with the bulk of work in the Family Court. Thankfully, however, children were reporting cases of abuse, although some still suffered in silence. Child victims of sexual abuse were now reporting cases almost immediately, which was a big step forward compared to some years ago when children used to keep their mouths shut for years, she said.

Last weekend Mrs Camilleri's office organised the first course to inform children and young people about their rights. The course was organised after the realisation that children are not yet aware enough of the existence of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Simone Ek, a senior advisor to Sweden and Europe on the implementation of the convention, said that although children know more about their rights than they did two decades ago, not all children did. Although many countries had ratified the convention, its full implementation was behind in a number of places.

Ms Ek highlighted the importance of the country having a Commissioner for Children.

"Children are individuals with their own rights, who should be looked at as young citizens. If there is nobody to speak up for them, their rights will not always be respected," she said, adding that a commissioner can push a government to implement the convention.

Ms Ek is a firm supporter of laws that restrict the smacking of children.

"In Sweden we have a law which states that you should respect the child and not use corporal punishment or any other degrading treatment. This law has changed attitudes toward the use of violence in the treatment of children," she said.

There was the risk that if a child was brought up seeing situations solved through violence, that child would not know how to handle a situation without resorting to violence, she added.