The Voice of the Child

Why is the voice of the child important?

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) Article 12 states that every child has the right to express their views, feelings and wishes in all matters affecting them, and to have their views considered and taken seriously. a right that extends into the domain of Family Mediation.

Child inclusive mediation is the practice of putting the views of the children at the centre of the discussions, sometimes meeting directly with children.

Research has shown that it’s helpful for their mental health, and helps for parents to understand what is going on for their children and what they can do to better meet their children’s needs in their parenting arrangements.

The Family Mediation Council (FMC) Code of Practice says all children over 10 should be given the opportunity to have voices heard if they wish.

When children are consulted: they tend to be more satisfied with the arrangements (Butler et al, 2002) Arrangements tend to be longer lasting, father–child relationships are better, and parenting is more cooperative (Walker and Lake-Carroll, in Family Mediation Task Force Report, 2014) the adverse effects of parental separation can be ameliorated by reducing parental conflict (McIntosh et al., 2008, Fortin et al., 2012)

Children’s experience of the legal system

Many children feel marginalised by, and are dissatisfied with family law system processes (Carson et al, 2018; Kaspiew et al, 2014). They perceive that adults in the system do not seek, listen to or care about their views (ALRC, 1997; Carson et al, 2018; Parkinson and Cashmore, 2008)

Children want ‘a bigger voice, more of the time’ in family law decision-making processes that affect them (Carson et al, 2018)

Meeting directly with children as part of the Mediation process gives them the opportunity to be part of the decisions that are affecting them.

When is the voice of the child appropriate?

At Prime Resolution, we take a child centred approach in all cases, even when not meeting directly with children we ensure children are kept at the heart of the conversation. We provide information on child inclusive mediation from the point of initial enquiry and carefully consider the suitability of meeting with children throughout the process. We look for cases in which the adults are willing and able to hear and consider the viewpoint of the children when determining arrangements that affect them.

All parties with parental responsibility are required to give consent to invite the child to meet with a mediator. The child is invited by writing in age appropriate language. explaining the purpose and the process of the meeting. A CIM meeting would usually take place at a neutral venue (not at home) often school is a good option as it’s a familiar place for the child / children. Sometimes siblings are seen together and sometimes offered individual meetings.

Children are giving the message that they are not responsible for decision making but that it is an opportunity for them to share their wishes and feelings, to decide what messages they want to be given back to their parents in order for them to help them make decisions. The meeting is confidential and only the children’s agreed messages, in their own words, are shared.