Enhancing child participation in family disputes through child inclusive mediation in Kenya

Abstract

Despite the fact that children are directly affected by the outcome of familydisputes, they are rarely given the opportunity to express their views. Whenan opportunity arises, children’s voices are manipulated by parents dueto the adversarial litigation system that turns parents against each other.Consequently, the child’s best interests are not adequately considered duringand post-divorce. In view of the increasing case backlog and promoting thebest interests of the child, this paper advocates child inclusive mediation bydemonstrating how it can be entrenched in the resolution of family disputes.The paper argues that this form of mediation enables children to participatein the decisions affecting their future. Secondly, involving children to voicetheir wishes helps in refocusing on the children’s needs. Using the Officeof Family Advocate in South Africa as a case study, the paper illustrateshow Kenya can enhance child participation in family mediation through thenewly created Office of Secretary of Children’s Services under Section 37and 38 of the Children Act of 2022.