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Enhancing Child Participation in Family Disputes Through Child Inclusive Mediation in Kenya
Vianney Sebayiga, Christine Njane ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5The paper looks at how children take part, or fail to take part, in family disputes such as divorce and custody cases in Kenya. It says children are rarely asked for their views, and that when they are, parents may manipulate what they say within an adversarial court system. The author argues for child inclusive mediation so that children can take part in decisions about their future and their needs stay in focus. Using South Africa's Office of the Family Advocate as a case study, the paper suggests Kenya could use the new Office of Secretary of Children's Services under the Children Act 2022.
Key points
- Children are directly affected by family disputes but are rarely given the opportunity to express their views.
- In the adversarial litigation system, parents can manipulate children's voices.
- As a result, the child's best interests are not adequately considered during and after divorce.
- Child inclusive mediation is proposed to let children take part in decisions affecting their future and to refocus on their needs.
- South Africa's Office of the Family Advocate is used as a case study for how Kenya could use the Office of Secretary of Children's Services (Sections 37 and 38, Children Act 2022).
Limitations
Only the abstract is available, and it appears to be a legal and policy argument rather than an empirical study, so it gives no data on outcomes for children. It does not show whether the proposed approach works in practice.
Abstract
Family disputes are one of the instances where children come into contact with the law. Despite the fact that children are directly affected by the outcome of such disputes, they are rarely given the opportunity to express their views. When an opportunity arises, children's voices are manipulated by parents due to the adversarial litigation system that turns parents against each other. Consequently, the child's best interests are not adequately considered during and postdivorce. In view of the increasing case backlog and promoting the best interests of the child, this paper advocates for child inclusive mediation by demonstrating how it can be entrenched in the resolution of family disputes. The paper argues that this form of mediation enables children to participate in the decisions affecting their future. Secondly, involving children to voice their wishes helps in refocusing on the children's needs. Using the Office of Family Advocate (hereinafter OFA) in South Africa as a case study, the paper illustrates how Kenya can enhance child participation in family mediation through the newly created Office of Secretary of Children's Services (hereinafter OSCS) under Section 37 and 38 of the Children Act 2022.