How Do Those Working with Children of Separation and Divorce Interpret and Construct the Child’s Voice(s) and Present it to Third Parties?

I am interested in the multiple voices of the child and particularly, the voices of children of separation and divorce. How do children represent their thoughts and feelings and do they hold their views separate from the adults who also influence their security and survival? Do we need to disentangle children’s input in order to adequately provide direction to those who must make decisions on children’s behalf? Family is socially constructed, embedded in traditions and rituals resulting in unique ways of being, and children are part of this construction. Meanings are developed between family members and not within each individual member, yet the legal system requests the voice of the child as though the child’s voice(s) is independent to those of their caregivers.

Children of separation and divorce have historically not been participants in the decision-making that will ultimately affect the rest of their lives. They have been viewed as vulnerable and lacking the capacity to contribute their thoughts and feelings in a way that does not place them at risk. Including children in the context of family law is referred to as promoting “the voice of the child.” More emphasis has been placed on the question of including children’s voices in separation and divorce since Canada ratified the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child in 1991. Since this time there is more emphasis on children having more input related to legal decisions that affect their lives.

The interest in the duty to represent children’s views and pass those views on to third parties goes beyond the various political demands to give children a role and voice in decisions affecting their lives. Therapists, Mediators and Parenting Coordinators are all working with families at various points in the separation and divorce process, but little is known about how children are included in earlier stages of the divorce process. There is a lack of published information related to how children are included in the separation and divorce process. There is global agreement about the importance of including children’s voices, but the best approaches to having their voices heard and when their voices should be heard remains unclear. How then are those representing children’s views gaining this information and then constructing and interpreting it for third parties? My research interest lies here. I will be proceeding to explore this topic area using Grounded Theory Methodology.