Parliament, courts urged to act over children's issues

Members of the Council for Children yesterday called for quicker resolution of court cases involving children, and enactment of a Children's Act by Parliament.

The council, formed a year ago to assist Children's Commissioner Sonia Camilleri, yesterday had a meeting with the parliamentary Social Affairs Committee.

Ms Camilleri said there were 43 cases relating to child abuse before the courts, some of which have been pending for seven years. All but two of the cases involved alleged sexual abuse.

She said the council had compiled the list and presented it to the Chief Justice who took two decisions - he presented the list to all magistrates and urged them to ensure the cases moved faster, where possible, and he designated a magistrate to hear all new cases of child abuse so that they could be treated in the shortest time possible.

Ms Camilleri said many separation cases which also involved children had also been before the courts for years. Since these cases were initiated before the setting up of the family court, the parties did not have the mediation service.

Nationalist MP Franco Galea asked if the children involved in the cases of abuse had been given any support while their cases were pending in court.

Council member Micheline Sciberras said there were cases in which the abuse would have already left a very negative effect on the children who would then have to face an additional trauma because of how their case was treated in court.

Furthermore, the situation was such that when children who received counselling spoke about their abuse experience, the counselling would have to stop since the counsellor would have become a witness in the case.

Therefore, when the children started trusting people enough to tell them what they had gone through, they stopped receiving the support they needed.

Council member Leonard Callus said that it was being brought to the attention of courts and parliament that children were suffering because of delays, not just in cases of abuse but also in cases of marriage separation.

At the beginning of the meeting Ms Camilleri said that soon after its setting up, the council acted to coopt children to form part of it. Posters had been sent to schools in Malta and Gozo for children to apply to join the council. But many teachers and head teachers had, unfortunately, not understood the importance of such an opportunity for children and they did not tell them about it.

Only some Church schools encouraged children to apply. Some 60 applications were received and two children were appointed by the children themselves.

The council, Ms Camilleri said, was still going through a learning process since there was a tendency to protect children rather than to listen to what they had to say.

The commissioner said the council agreed that the need for a Children's Act was urgent. Four years ago, a draft had been prepared by Dr Ruth Farrugia but only the part relating to the commissioner was enacted.

Dr Farrugia had told the council that the draft now needed revising. She also said she believed it would be better for the act to be enacted as a whole rather than in parts.

The council proposed a revision of the draft which would then be enacted as a whole but with staggered implementation.

Family Affairs Minister Dolores Cristina said she did not agree. She explained that she was not willing to wait years until a Children's Act was prepared when there were parts, such as that related to fostering, which were needed urgently.

A Fostering Act, she said, was a priority since there were many carers in Malta who were in a vulnerable situation.

Ms Camilleri pointed out that it was positive that children were starting to approach the office of the commissioner with their problems.

There were two siblings, for example, who asked for her help since they did not want to see their father. Another wanted to see his father for a longer time than allowed by a court because he was missing him.

It was unfortunate, she said, that, in court, children did not have a voice. Even when they were entitled to a lawyer, this was chosen for them either by their parents or the judge. This did not make sense and the children should be able to select their own lawyer.

The sitting started half an hour late since the commissioner and members of her council were kept from entering the House by the police, who kept all visitors away from parliament because of the GWU's protest