The Muffled Voice of the child: Part three
Solicitors Journal
The muffled voice of the child: part three
Feature |7 April 2015
There is a real opportunity for the old proverb ‘Children should be seen and not heard’ to become a thing of the past, say Carla Ditz and Helen Greenfield
In the last update (SJ 159/9), we looked at how the law supports children’s desire to be heard when they are the subject of court proceedings. But how does this actually happen in practice?
Existing regime
There are a number of different means by which children are given a voice:
- Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass): An officer is closely involved in most cases and ‘advises the courts on what [they] consider to be in the best interests of individual children’. They commit to ‘using their influence positively as the voice of the child and the eyes and ears of family courts’;
- Guardian ad litem: A guardian ad litem represents children in cases involving local authorities, instructing a solicitor to act, interviewing anyone connected with the children, and writing reports for the court, as well as giving evidence;
- A solicitor: Some children are permitted to instruct their own solicitors without having a guardian
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Its fair to say that a voice will be given to children, but this comes with restrictions bearing in mind the rules of the Children Act 1989. Considering children today they voice their concerns regadless, this is another way of letting them project themselves in the court of law.
Its exactly that! There is allot of pressure on social workers. CaFcass deals with this but under allot of restrictions also.
I think it’s a good thing to allow children to be heard. After all, it can be their future that is being argued about and sometimes parents are so ngry with each other they cannot see waht is best for the child.
Thank you for your comment Amira. It certainly can be important for a child to be heard.
I agree with this. With bitter divorces becoming more common and revenge from both parties, one tends to forget about the children involved and what they actually want. CAFCAS are doing a brilliant job. Giving children an opportunity to say what they want is vital.
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As a social worker I know how important it is to listen to what the child wants.
Thank you for your comment. Rodney