Helen Nile
Helen qualified as a solicitor in 1998 having completed her training as a solicitor with t...
full profile
Blog
Twenty Years On From The Children Act
(18th November | 10:49)
A poll of four thousand parents and children has found that one in three children whose parents separated or divorced over the last twenty years have lost contact permanently with their father.
The poll was commissioned by solicitors Mishcon de Reya, twenty years after the implementation of The Children Act 1989 which deals with issues such as residence and contact.
It was also reported that almost a tenth of children reported that the separation process had left them feeling suicidal whilst others said that they turned to drink, drugs and crime as a result of their experiences. Children will often feel that they have to be loyal to one parent, often that parent with whom they spend the majority of their time. They may then feel or be made to feel that by wanting to see their other parent they are being disloyal or causing upset and distress.
The suggestion has been made that the route available for resolving disputes in relation to children via the court system pushes parents further apart and puts children in the middle of disputes. It involves parents in litigation which in some cases can be lengthy, expensive and stressful. It is said that this will mean that some Fathers will not be able, either emotionally or financially, to carry on with the process.
Furthermore, even if orders are made by the Court that there should be contact between a parent and a child, there is still the issue of what happens if the parents with care of that child still refuses to allow contact to take place. Provisions have come into force very recently which do give the Courts some enforcement powers if orders are not complied with. These include directions to attend parenting programmes, unpaid work orders and even orders for compensation to be paid if there has been a financial loss as result of the non-compliance. There is little information available on the success of these measures so far and their effectiveness will need to be gauged in the future.
A quarter of the children questioned in the poll said that they had been asked to lie to one parent by the other and a further fifteen percent said they had been asked to spy on the other parent.
There have been calls for compulsory mediation at the time of divorce rather than parents resorting to the court system. The potential problem with this is of course that if parents are so polarised that they are seeking legal advice, it may be unlikely that they would be prepared to attend mediation or that the mediation could be successful in resolving matters.
What do you think? How could the process be changed to try and take some of the animosity out of relationship break downs?
<< Back | Post a Comment
Comments
No comments added for this entry.
