Children's right to legal assistance 'being denied'

A father cannot take his troubled 10-year-old son to counselling because his estranged wife refuses to give her consent.

Another child is forced to visit her violent father regularly even though the thought of meeting him fills her with terror.

These are just some of the cases brought up during an emotional discussion last week where parents, social workers, lawyers and mediators debated children's access to justice.

"For all of us, access to justice is a fundamental human right, but every day it is being denied to children," senior law lecturer Ruth Farrugia said.

She explained there was only one "part-time" child advocate in Malta, to whom there was no child-friendly access. She pointed out that, as the law stands, the courts were only obliged to listen to children over the age of 14 and sometimes even this did not happen.

She said children were not even legally empowered to ask for a lawyer themselves and only the mediator, the judge or the parents could request such a facility.

The Children's Commissioner is not allowed to interfere in such separation cases.

"What publicity is given to this lawyer? How well is she paid? What resources does she have? What is her job description? The only thing the law says is that the children's advocate must be a lawyer," Dr Farrugia said. She stressed that especially in separation cases where the child's future was being decided, it was important for the child to be consulted and to be informed of his or her rights.

However, various parents and social workers who attended the discussion feared the court environment was not healthy for a child so getting them to participate more actively in cases would not be the best option.

Social workers stressed that children were often abused in separation proceedings and their words could be used against them in cases where there was a lot of antagonism between the couple.

"It's already very difficult for a child to brave a court and testify, but having your parents take your testimony against you is even worse," one of them said.

Dr Farrugia argued that in some cases it was not the testifying aspect that was traumatising but the whole separation process. Their participation may have a cathartic effect and ensure their interests were safeguarded.

One woman stressed that parents had to be more mature and look out for the interests of their children themselves.

Another suggested that, besides access to a lawyer, children also deserved access to a whole team of professionals during this very sensitive period in their lives.

Meanwhile, a concerned father said he was tired of taking his child to report to the police station every time the child's mother refused to show up for visiting hours. He said he felt like the biggest criminal in Malta and his child was already traumatised with having to go to court on a regular basis.

He suggested cost-free measures to make the court more environment friendly to children, such as putting up children's paintings to lighten the atmosphere.

He added that every time he took his child to court, they had to witness couples fighting and swearing at each other.

In other countries, there were days when only children testified in court so as to make them feel more comfortable.

The event was organised by the Children's Commissioner as part of a study process to propose legislative changes.