Children are afraid to say the wrong thing to judges in divorce proceedings
Do courts take children's experiences properly into account in divorce proceedings? Research by Villa Pinedo shows that children often fear saying the wrong thing to judges. Mariëlle Bruning, Professor of Children and the Law, discussed the issue in Dutch daily newspaper 'NRC'.
According to researchers and ‘hands on’ experts, there's still much room for improvement in divorce proceedings. Too often, the court does not sufficiently take into account the experiences and emotions of children, but also does not properly protect children from the influence of their parents.
Mariëlle Bruning talks about the pressure that children experience during such proceedings: ‘Children think it’s important to speak with the judge, but it's also nerve-racking for them. They often don't know what’s expected of them, and it can be stressful – for example, they might run into one of their parents in the court’s hallway who they haven’t seen for a long time.’
Four years ago, Bruning published research on the right of children to be heard (English summary from p. 327)
Read the full article in NRC (€)