A parents rights lobby has called on the government to decriminalise failure to pay alimony payments. 

Carrying placards stating 'parents are not just your ATM' and 'every child deserves to love both parents', around 20 members of Happy Parenting Malta protested outside parliament on Thursday

They had earlier participated in a parliamentary conference about a wide range of social issues. 

Anthony Cauchi, founder of the group, said jailing people over alimony does not benefit anyone and those who do not pay should be helped and not put in prison. 

Some of the placards created by Happy Parenting Malta members. Photo: Jonathan Borg

Another member of the group told Times of Malta how he was jailed for failing to pay alimony whilst in jail.

Cauchi said the court is presiding over injustices as parents are sometimes forced to pay “financially breaking” maintenance payments and barely get to see their children following court judgements. 

“Children have a right and need to have both parents play an active role in their lives. We need to introduce the idea of shared parenting into law,” he said.

He said the psychological trauma of being alienated from their children has driven some parents to suicide and others to suffer severe psychological trauma.

Around 20 members of the group took part in the protest. Photo: Jonathan Borg

Lawyers often “take advantage of families” and convince their clients to “take everything from their ex-partner” for their own financial benefit, Cauchi said. 

Parents having access to their children only through supervised visits was also unjust, especially when there has been no court judgment on the parent, he said. 

“Supervised visits are sending a message to children that their parent is bad or evil”," he said.

On Monday, justice minister Jonathan Attard said his ministry was working on a legislative reform to tackle parental alienation. 

He told parliament that a working group is at a “very advanced stage” and said that a public consultation document on reforms to the family court will soon be published. 

“We don’t only want to strengthen the specialisation of the family court, but also to create new structures that can guarantee more effective and efficient justice which is in the best interest of minors,” he said.