Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1446843
15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 30 JANUARY 2022 EYEWITNESS Mary Gauci is President of Happy Parenting Malta 6. The Laws affecting chil- dren should uphold a general stance that the equal sharing of the raising of children is to be seriously considered Although the present legal provisions do not exclude this, there need to be legal inter- ventions to change the current mentality, usually conservative, of the judiciary and the legal profession. We need to come into line with the 21st century with all the effects of the march of time. Contemporary society no longer embraces the values of yesteryear. In the case of an in-amicable separation, the rule should be that the care and custody of children would be automatical- ly conjoined, without automat- ic maintenance, while medical and education expenses would be equally shared by the par- ents. It should be one of the parents who may request modification to this arrangement. Then valid reasons are given and a report is drawn by the experts. It should be the Court that modifies the custody, and thus determine maintenance, according to the means and wishes of the parent, as the case may be. This means that, unless there is a valid reason established following an analysis, children would spend 50% of their time with either parent and that parent would be financially re- sponsible during that time. In the case of a 50/50 custody ar- rangement, maintenance would not be required. In this way, equality would be established between the par- ents. As things now stand, the Courts generally awards guard- ianship automatically to the mother and orders the father to pay maintenance. 7. Proposal for an improve- ment in the administration of family procedures This could include the provi- sion that the collection of ev- idence should not be done by practising lawyers. They could be officials who are directly en- gaged by the Courts and who are answerable directly to the Courts. Part-time judicial assis- tants may have a conflict of in- terest, affecting their selection and appointment. It is a good idea for the Court to have a list of experts: doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, ex- perts in the field of parental alienation, social workers and approved therapists. The time has come for the ju- diciary and the legal profession (judges, mediators and lawyers) to be trained professionally not to make judgements based on stereotypical ideas positing that only the woman knows how to look after children. These should be instructed on paren- tal alienation. There should be better facil- ities in a Court where minors are involved, such as the Family Court. This Court should have a for- mat that is different from the ordinary Court, and ideally, it should be placed in a separate building. When children give their testimony, there should be transparency, and the parents should also be heard. Conclusion The proposals being made here are among many that are being mentioned and studied in various other countries. In the same way that we are ready to analyse developments in other areas of society to im- prove the situation in our coun- try, we need to observe, analyse and study this field properly. Children's lives in the environ- ment of the family, irrespective of whether it is an ideal one or one that hurts, leaves an indel- ible mark on their lived experi- ences. We cannot waste more time because today's children are the young people of tomorrow and the adult generation a few years down the line. What happens today reflects on our expecta- tions of the future. You and I are responsible for our coun- try's society. 2022 proposals for a discussion on amendments in the law and improvements to the Family Court procedures