500 signatures reached
To: Government at all levels plus the UN
Give children a real choice and a real voice in Family Law and child protection
This petition calls upon all levels of government in Australia to urgently change their systems and processes to put the rights, wellbeing, protection and welfare of children first in family law, child ‘protection’ and other matters involving children.
Children have the right to live free from emotional, psychological and other forms of abuse now being perpetuated by the systems which are supposed to protect them.
We therefore request all governments take serious measures now including:
• Removing decision-making on children’s lives from the adversarial legal system.
• Creating a uniform consistent and co-operative child protection system across Australia.
• Creating and resourcing a much more child-friendly way of assessing what’s happening to children. Matters involving children must be heard by a special tribunal not composed of legal experts but by experts in child development as well as child abuse and family violence and dynamics.
• Ensure that children have a real choice and a real voice in matters that affect them.
• Ensuring that children are treated fairly and kept safe and listened to with care and compassion.
• Giving genuine effect to the provisions of UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
We further request that all governments give urgent consideration to setting up a Royal Commission or similar with coercive and investigative powers to look into the harm being done to children by cruel and inhumane government decisions and processes. This Commission would be able to investigate corruption, incompetence, collusion and many other factors affecting the outcomes for children.
Children have the right to live free from emotional, psychological and other forms of abuse now being perpetuated by the systems which are supposed to protect them.
We therefore request all governments take serious measures now including:
• Removing decision-making on children’s lives from the adversarial legal system.
• Creating a uniform consistent and co-operative child protection system across Australia.
• Creating and resourcing a much more child-friendly way of assessing what’s happening to children. Matters involving children must be heard by a special tribunal not composed of legal experts but by experts in child development as well as child abuse and family violence and dynamics.
• Ensure that children have a real choice and a real voice in matters that affect them.
• Ensuring that children are treated fairly and kept safe and listened to with care and compassion.
• Giving genuine effect to the provisions of UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
We further request that all governments give urgent consideration to setting up a Royal Commission or similar with coercive and investigative powers to look into the harm being done to children by cruel and inhumane government decisions and processes. This Commission would be able to investigate corruption, incompetence, collusion and many other factors affecting the outcomes for children.
Why is this important?
Because children are being harmed every day by unreasonable, inhumane and cruel decisions and processes in Family Law and child protection which are not child-focussed or child-friendly and without any meaningful consultation with the children involved.