INVISIBLE CHILDREN » International Child Abuse

Ireland Implements guardian ad-Litem Program

Mike Tikkanen — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:08:23 +0000

Monday’s Irish Times announced that Ireland would be

Implementing best practice on the right of children to be heard http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0301/1224265369793.html

A child’s right to be heard is the essence of the guardian ad-Litem program. Think about it. Voiceless, helpless children enduring unspeakable horrors, sometimes for many years with no one to turn to for help.

The World Health Organization defines Torture as extended exposure to violence and deprivation. That is how I see child abuse.

In my experience as a guardian ad-Litem, a child often doesn’t even know that these terrible adult behaviors are wrong or they they have not done something to cause them.

Unspeakable crimes are committed against children but its not a crime in most third world nations, and it is rarely discovered if child protection services are under-trained or under resourced in industrialized nations.

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Developing nations struggle to provide any protection for young children unlucky enough to be born into violent or dysfunctional families. Girls are still treated like objects in much of the third world.

When I spoke at the UN a few years ago, a woman from Africa explained that there “were not words” to describe the commonality of the abuse perpetrated upon children in her country.

Today’s New York Times had a terrible example in Yeman, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/opinion/04kristof.html
OP-ED COLUMNIST

Divorced Before Puberty

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: March 3, 2010

It’s hard to imagine that there have been many younger divorcées — or braver ones — than a pint-size third grader named Nujood Ali (about the same age as Jerry Lee Lewis’ first wife in the U.S. fifty years ago).

So to read that Ireland is implementing a guardian ad-Litem program, which gives a child a voice in his/her own life was a definite step forward for humanity last week.

The Irish Times – Monday, March 1, 2010
Implementing best practice on the right of children to be heard

The proposed wording for the constitutional amendment on childrens rights provides an opportunity for a world-class system allowing children’s voices to be heard

THE PROPOSED wording for the amendment to the Constitution on children’s rights includes a reference to “the right of the child’s voice to be heard in any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting the child, having regard to the child’s age and maturity”. This was enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, to which Ireland is a party.

Being afforded the opportunity to be heard by the decision-maker on matters affecting oneself is one of the cornerstones of due process, not only in criminal law cases, but also in civil law cases, such as child care and family law cases, in which children’s interests are often at stake.

While legal representation may be appropriate for older teenagers in order to be heard, most children will require help in transmitting their views to the court. In Ireland, this assistance takes the form of the guardian ad litem (guardian in law), usually an independent social worker. However, provision for the right of children to be heard through either mechanism in civil law cases in Ireland has, to date, been minimalistic and ad-hoc.

The Child Care Act 1991 permits the appointment of a guardian ad litem for a child involved in proceedings relating to care and supervision orders, where the child is not a party to proceedings. This is a matter for the discretion of the judge, and practice varies between regions and individual judges. Furthermore, the appointment is paid for by the HSE, which can raise conflicts of interest, because child care cases often involve children being taken into the care of the HSE.

The Children Act 1997 provides for the appointment of a guardian ad litem in family law proceedings. This provision has not entered into force, so it is not used in practice. The net effect of inadequate legislation in both child care and family law proceedings is that the majority of children are left unheard in matters directly concerning them.

It is useful to look at the experiences of other countries in order to consider how the right of children to be heard could be adequately provided for in Ireland. There is a strong presumption in favour of the appointment of guardians ad litem in the respective systems of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In fact, guardians ad litem are automatically appointed unless the court is satisfied that it is not necessary to do so. This ensures a level of consistency in appointment between regions and individual judges.

The legislative provision for hearing children in family law cases as opposed to care cases is not as strong in these neighbouring jurisdictions, but at least some systems are in place. In family law proceedings, the court may be assisted by Children’s Court officers in Northern Ireland and Family Court advisers in England, who may interview the children involved to obtain their views.

In the Scottish system, all children in family law cases receive a form from the court, inviting them to let the judge know whether they wish to express views. In any civil proceedings in Scotland, the equivalent of a guardian ad litem can be appointed by the court to protect the interests of the child (for example if there is a conflict of interest between child and parent/s).

Children are considered competent to instruct a solicitor from the age of 12, and solicitors can accept instruction from children under this age if they consider the children have the capacity to instruct.

It is useful to consider the comments of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on the right to be heard. The committee advises states to avoid stipulating minimum ages at which children should be heard, but instead to have processes in place for assessing the capacities of children to form views if the issue arises. The committee urges that children should have a large measure of choice about whether to speak directly to the judge or whether to be heard through a representative.

The right to be heard is interpreted by the committee as including the right of children to have their views seriously considered. Children’s views should hold a significant amount of weight if they are clear, reasonable and independent. Children should also be provided with adequate information at all stages (unless this is inappropriate), and should have the outcome of the case explained to them, including the position of their views within the process.

An important factor in proper implementation of the right of children to be heard would be the existence of a regulatory body to oversee its application in both types of proceedings. Such an organisation could administer the guardian ad litem service and provide for social reports and other means of enabling children to express views where those children wish to do so. It could also ensure that the guidance from the UN committee is put into practice.

The system in Ireland will have to be vastly improved to vindicate the right of children to be heard. The proposed constitutional amendment provides us with a chance to improve practice and to develop a world class system enabling Ireland to abide by directions of the UN committee, incorporate best practice, and surpass provision elsewhere.

Aoife Daly is completing a PhD on the right of children to be heard at the School of Law, Trinity College Dublin, and teaches a course on children’s rights at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, NUI Galway

A Million Haitian Orphans

Mike Tikkanen — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:54:46 +0000

According to World News 380,000 Haitian children were made homeless when their orphanages were destroyed in the earthquake.

Before the earthquake, UNICEF estimates that tens of thousands of Haitian children were being sold as servants to rich Haitians each year.

Developing nations are often unable to provide even the most basic safety for their nations children (child endangerment, slavery, basic care) through the proper writing and passing of laws and standards that all sensible people could agree on. Enforcement is another issue entirely.

Helping third world nations control human trafficking, child prostitution, slavery, and other basic child safety standards is more that a noble endeavor.

It is critical to the success of our communities everywhere.

Without basic human dignity for all of us, the ruined lives and violence spawned by unhealthy, unhappy people impact all of us in some way, & for those in proximity to children that have suffered from its absence in many ways.

The world health organization defines torture as “extended exposure to violence and deprivation”.

Is child abuse and neglect torture?

In the U.S., the law governing the safety of a child in the home is the Imminent Harm Doctrine, which states that a child may be removed from the home if his/her life is endangered by the caregiver.

Australia Begins National Child Care Standards

Mike Tikkanen — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:49:09 +0000

Perhaps the test of how a nation treats its youngest citizens will determine how nations are are viewed in the twenty first century.

After an apparently preventable death of a 12 year old girl in Australia, public outrage over lack of standards for child care prompted legislation at a federal level that has now come to pass.

When I spoke at the UN in 2008, a woman from Uganda said to me that there were not even words to describe the child abuse that took place in her country, and no programs to help abused children (at the end of the UN talk, you can hear her statement) http://www.invisiblechildren.org/home/ click on the link at the bottom of the page).

That puts definition to being a third world nation.Link to Australian eGov article; http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/32942

Australia Launches National Standards For Child Care For the First Time

Source: Government of Australia
Published Monday, 25 January, 2010 – 13:35

New national standards to safeguard the health, safety and wellbeing of children living in foster homes in all States and Territories will be developed by the middle of the year as a key measure under the Australian Government’s National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009-2020.

The Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin, today released details of measures being considered for inclusion as part of the new national standards.

“Currently, child protection systems vary markedly across the country, with each State and Territory having its own child protection policy, standards and legislation,” Ms Macklin said.

“We need national standards of care so children who cannot live with their families can grow up in a safe, secure environment. The implementation of national standards will provide a benchmark for the care of these children no matter where in Australia they live.”

Ms Macklin said some of the options canvassed include best practice standards for the assessment of foster carers as well as appropriate training and support. Another measure could be setting a benchmark for regular health checks for children in foster care.

“The tragic and apparently preventable death of a 12 year old Northern Territory girl and the Coroner’s findings on her death show just how important it is for the health and welfare of children in care to be regularly monitored.

“We also need to reduce the disruption to children’s lives caused when they are moved from one foster home to another. A 2009 study revealed that children had experienced an average of 5.7 placements in the last 5 years. By reducing the number of placements, children can have the stable and secure environment that’s essential for their long term development and wellbeing.”

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s report Child Protection Australia 2008-09, released today, there were more than 34,000 children living in out of home care at 30 June 2009.

This is an increase of 9.3 per cent, compared with the number of children in out of home care in the previous year.

The report also found that substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect increased by 1.7 per cent with almost 55,000 substantiated cases, affecting around 33,000 individual children.

The Government wants all those with an interest in out of home care to contribute their views and ideas to the development of national standards. Children, young people, carers, practitioners and organisations are all being encouraged to provide feedback.

The Australian, State and Territory Governments and non-government organisations will work with an advisory team from KPMG to develop the national standards for out of home care.

From next month, national consultations will start in all capital cities, as well as four regional locations in Queensland, Western Australia, New South Wales and the Northern Territory.

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20% of Western Australia Child Abuse is Sex Abuse

Mike Tikkanen — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:26:00 +0000

As a long time guardian ad-Litem, it always appeared that sex abuse was minimized or under-reported in the child abuse cases I worked on. Uncomfortable to to talk about and often difficult to prove.

The impact of sex abuse on children lasts for ever as is well documented by the medical community www.avahealth.org (watch the videos on this site, the The Relationship of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s) to Adult Health Status at the bottom of the home page is terrific).

This article about sex abuse of children in Australia’s child protection system makes me wonder if their reporting is just more honest than ours, or if they really do see more of it.

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/wa-has-worst-rate-of-child-abuse-report/story-e6frg13u-1225822209261Western Australia has worst rate of child abuse: report

WA Opposition Child Protection Minister Sue Ellery says newly released child abuse figures show the government is failing the state’s children.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s report, Child Protection Australia 2008-09, reveals WA has the highest rate of substantiated child sexual abuse cases in the country.

Ms Ellery said of 1523 cases substantiated nationally, 298 were reported in WA. The figure represents 20 per cent of the total number of abuse findings.

“Western Australia has the highest rate of substantiated cases of child sexual abuse, well ahead of New South Wales which has the second highest rate at 11 per cent,” Ms Ellery said.

“In every other state and territory the rate of substantiated child sexual abuse is less than 10 per cent.

“The number of WA children falling victim to sexual abuse has risen from 253 in 2007-2008 to 298 this year.

“These figures are even more alarming when compared with South Australia, where there were 96 cases of child sexual abuse.”

Ms Ellery said the introduction of mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse half-way through the timeframe of the report was not an excuse for WA’s alarming figures.

“Every other jurisdiction in Australia has mandatory reporting and yet the number of substantiated cases, not reports, of child sexual abuse in WA has been consistently higher than anywhere else,” she said.

“These numbers cannot be explained away by relying on the recent implementation of mandatory reporting.

“Mandatory reporting may account for a slight increase in the number of reported and substantiated cases, but it does not explain why, even before mandatory reporting, Western Australia’s substantiated cases of child sexual abuse were so much higher than other states.”

Ms Ellery said the State of Western Australia was failing its children.

“Sexual abuse of children in WA remains disproportionately higher compared to the rest of Australia and it is clear the Barnett Government must do more to address this insidious problem,” she said.

“I am offering bipartisan support for additional resources to be allocated for an immediate investigation into why the circumstances of these 298 children are so different to the circumstances of children in every other state. ”

“It is not just that we have a high Indigenous population (where historically abuse numbers have been higher) because Queensland and the Northern Territory, with equally high Indigenous populations, do not have the same proportion of sexual abuse as we do.

“Child protection is one area where we need to be constantly vigilant and always looking to improve the way we support families or these numbers will just continue to escalate.”

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