Children 'forgotten victims' of domestic violence

Children are the forgotten victims of domestic violence. That’s the stark assessment of solicitor Dr Geoffrey Shannon in his 300-page report on child protection.

In his 11th report to the Oireachtas, Ireland’s Special Rapporteur on Child Protection says that domestic violence has a “devastating impact” on children.

The report says: “Witnessing domestic violence and living in such an environment can scar children emotionally, impact on their development and result in anxiety and aggression.”

Damage

The damage caused can be irreparable, Dr Shannon believes, and he calls for child-specific services for those who witness domestic violence.

“Children, having regard to their age and maturity, should be given the power and authority to make applications for protection and safety orders in their own right – without having to rely on a parent or the CFA [Child and Family Agency] to make an application on their behalf,” Dr Shannon writes.

His report also calls for the establishment of a national system of child contact centres to facilitate post-separation contact for victims of child abuse.

The report says that this will provide a safe, stress-free environment for access, while enabling relationships with parents to be maintained.

Play and art therapy should also be offered in these State-funded centres, the report says.

Abolish direct provision

Ireland’s Special Rapporteur on Child Protection also says that Ireland should abolish direct provision accommodation for asylum seekers because it interferes with family life.

Dr Shannon’s report says that the Reception and Integration Agency must ensure that agreements with commercial contractors comply with section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014.

Direct provision (DP) should be placed on a statutory footing and for a limited time period of six to nine months, Dr Shannon believes, after which asylum seekers should be able to leave the DP system, live independently and access social welfare.

The report also says that particular attention should be paid to the mental-health needs of refugee children.

Poor relation

The message from the Rapporteur’s report is that, while Ireland has a Rolls Royce commercial court system, the family law arrangements are the poor relation of the justice sector.

After researching family law structures internationally, Dr Shannon concludes that family court structures need special treatment here.

He says that Ireland needs a separated family law court system, which is not overly interwoven with the rest of the courts system.

His report calls for a dedicated venue for family law matters, where ancillary services, such as legal aid and mediation, are under the one roof.

Court order

An inter-disciplinary system would recognise that simply making a court order is not sufficient, and that specialists with non-legal skills are also part of the picture.

These specialists would help to:

• Draw up parenting plans,
• Deal with anger management,
• Monitor custody and access orders,
• Engage in family therapy, and
• Implement supervised access orders.

Children’s voices must be central to the process, and the Courts Service should establish a pilot, from which judges would learn the outcomes for children and families on whom they have adjudicated.

Firm timetables must be set for case management, Dr Shannon states in his report.

On surrogacy, Dr Shannon flags in his report the “undeniably complex legal issues” which arise with these arrangements and says their regulation is a matter of pressing concern.

“A number of cases determined by our Superior Courts in the last decade have indicated that Irish law must develop quickly in order to keep abreast of technological advances in the area of reproduction,” the report says.

Respect the embryo

Judgments have found that the human embryo is entitled to respect, at the very least. Dr Shannon flags his concern that assisted human reproduction clinics have been operating in a legal vacuum.

“In light of the complex, risky and often costly nature of AHR procedures and treatments, the unregulated nature of these services was a matter of serious concern for all parties involved,” Dr Shannon writes.

“Legislation in the area of donor-assisted human reproduction however was finally introduced in Ireland through Parts 2 and 3 of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015.

Clarity

“The 2015 Act, for the first time, provides for regulation of this area of treatment, seeking to give legal clarity on parentage where donated genetic material is used in procreation.”

The General Scheme of the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill, published in October 2017 is described as “a complex package of measures” around AHR in its entirety.

It concerns not only gamete and embryo donation for use in AHR treatment and research, but also deals with surrogacy; posthumous assisted reproduction; pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and sex selection; and embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cell research.

Independent body

It provides for the establishment of an Assisted Human Reproduction Regulatory Authority as a dedicated, independent body to oversee this sector.

Dr Shannon’s report says the 2017 Bill is a welcome development in an area that urgently requires regulation. However, he points out that the proposed legislation falls short of mainstreaming “best interests of the child”, as opposed to his or her welfare.

On the bill’s promotion of “counselling”, Dr Shannon writes that the bill fails to direct this dialogue in the direction of the best interests of the child, “given that AHR deviates from the expected norms of natural conception, posing a number of complex ethical, social and legal questions which many people might not have considered prior to their engagement with it.”

Dr Shannon continues “It is submitted, however, that Head 8 should explicitly reference a particular direction and subject of counselling, namely counselling focused towards rights of the child born as a result of AHR.

Focus

“This separate focus would involve the provision of advice, recommendations and information from a qualified counsellor to parents on how to broach the subject of AHR with their child who has been born as a result of the procedure; how to explain to children the origins of their creation from an early stage; and how to ensure a child’s right to his or her identity is protected and vindicated.”

On surrogacy, Dr Shannon points out that "There is nothing in the Bill enabling the Regulatory Authority to approve legal parentage in favour of the intending parent prior to the birth of the child.

“Legally, the General Scheme reflects the traditional position – that the woman who gives birth to the child shall be the child’s legal mother.”

Only six weeks after the birth of the child can the intending parents make an application to court in relation to parentage.

Mechanism

The Bill sets out a court-based mechanism through which the intending parents can seek to transfer parentage by applying for a Parental Order.

If granted, this will transfer parentage from the surrogate to them after the child’s birth.