Children's perception and experience of the family advocate system

The Voice of the Child: Experiences of Children, in Middle Childhood, Regarding Children’s Court Procedures

“…This study made similar findings to a South African study conducted by Louw and Scherrer (2004), where they asked children to comment on what they experienced as positive within the environment of the Office of the Family Advocate, where divorce investigations are conducted. These children, as in the researcher's study, responded that they had liked that there were magazines, toys and things to draw with while they waited.…”

“…Despite the fact that the participants in this study expressed no further emotions with reference to having to wait for their case to be called, Louw and Scherrer (2004) indicated that having to wait could be stressful. They are also of the opinion that in order to "soften" the emotional effect of this waiting period, everything possible should be done to make the waiting area more child-friendly.…”

“…In fact, it is confirmed by various authors that a lack of courtroom knowledge has been indicated as a major source of anxiety for a participating child (Block et al, 2010;Eltringham & Aldridge, 2000). Louw and Scherrer (2004) rightly state that everything possible should be done to reduce the fear and uncertainty associated with the unfamiliarity of children's court procedures. Most especially, this should be done because children involved in court proceedings already experience trauma and disruption in their lives.…”