Why I will be voting no in children’s referendum

While I was initially in favour of a constitutional provision providing for children’s rights, having studied the proposed amendment I will be voting no for a number of reasons.

The fact that no-one can give any reasonable forecast as to how it will be implemented in practice is in itself good enough reason for a no vote. The claim that the courts will decide does not reflect current practice whereby judges delegate decisions relating to children to social workers, whose decisions are more influenced by ideology than the best interests of children.

Providing that children’s views be taken into account may appear superficially attractive, but is fraught with dangers. Putting children into a pivotal position in deciding acrimonious disputes between parents will expose them to manipulation, and possible even to intimidation.