The government often assures us that it listens. It prides itself on consultation, dialogue and participation, especially with young people. Recently, the Prime Minister's meeting with youngsters about the proposed conversion of open areas into green parks was held up as a shining example of this listening culture - an encouraging sign, unless it was merely a public relations exercise dressed up as participation.
But listening cannot be selective. It cannot be confined to safe, feel-good projects like parks. If the government is sincere about valuing children's voices, it must also listen when they speak about the far more painful, complex realities that shape their daily lives. One of these is justice - specifically, family court proceedings that decide what happens to children when their parents separate or divorce.
A new qualitative study released a few days ago delivers a stark message: the family court justice system is failing children. Titled Child-Friendly Justice: Giving a Voice to the Child in Family Court Proceedings, the research by lecturer and researcher Bernadine Satariano reveals a troubling pattern. Children who have lived through the family court process consistently say the same thing: they were excluded.
"They left us out," children repeatedly told the researcher. Even more distressing was their shared experience that "no one explains anything to the child". These are not abstract complaints. They are the voices of children who are old enough to understand what is happening around them, who feel the emotional fallout of court decisions, and who must live with the consequences long after judgments are delivered.
Family court rulings determine where children live, how often they see their parents, and the shape of their everyday lives. It is unjust that children have little or no say in such decisions. Listening to children does not mean burdening them with adult responsibility; it means respecting their right to be heard and acknowledging that their experiences matter.
The study, carried out for The Malta Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society with the support of the Children's Rights Observatory Malta, explored both the opportunities and the barriers to children's participation in the Maltese family court system. Its findings were presented during a seminar attended by Justice Minister Jonathan Attard and MFWS chair Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca.
Coleiro Preca did not mince her words, urging courts, policymakers and authorities to be bold and push through the necessary reforms. She is right. If the system is "clearly failing youngsters", as she stated, then tinkering at the edges will not suffice. Structural change is needed to ensure that children are informed, supported and genuinely heard throughout family court proceedings.
It is positive that guidebooks aimed at supporting children and parents when families are breaking up were also launched alongside the research. Information empowers, and clarity can reduce fear. But guidebooks alone cannot fix a system that routinely sidelines the very people it is meant to protect.
The government cannot claim to champion children's rights while ignoring evidence that children feel invisible in courtrooms. Nor can it celebrate youth participation in one sphere while neglecting it in another that has far deeper, lifelong consequences. If we accept that children should help shape decisions about public spaces, then surely we must also accept that they deserve a voice when decisions are made about their families.
The message from this survey is clear, consistent and impossible to dismiss. The powers that be should listen - and then act. A justice system that does not listen to children is not delivering justice at all.