“I have two sons, aged 15 and 13. I haven’t seen them in five years,” a father desperately told the House Human Rights Committee.
During the discussion on the issues faced by children who are victims of parental alienation, gaps in the legislation, lack of structures, protocols, and collaboration between the competent services were highlighted.
A very serious problem of understaffing in the Social Welfare Services was also emphasised, as only eight officers are tasked with handling the ever-increasing number of divorces.
The Committee will convene again next week, and the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Marilena Evangelou, will be invited to attend.
“I haven’t seen my sons in five years,” said a father, noting that they are now 15 and 13 years old, one of whom is autistic.
“The child left the mother and came to me, telling me that he couldn’t take it anymore and wanted to live with me.” He went to the police with the child, but they were forcibly separated again.
“He is 1.75 metres tall and only 45 kilograms,” the father alleged, claiming that the children are not doing well and that the mother is neglecting them. He further claimed that, in an attempt to keep him away, the mother twice accused him of sexually abusing the children.
He also approached the Commissioner of Administration, who sent a letter to the police, which was never answered, the father said. The Human Rights Committee, following an intervention by MP Charalambidou, will forward the said letter to the Chief of Police.
“I am the father of a 9-year-old girl, and it took me three months to see her. Her mother claims that the child is afraid of me,” said another complainant.
According to a court decision, he was also entitled to see the child in the afternoon so that they could study together. Today, he said, there are 46 violations of the court order.
He added that his mother had blocked his phone calls, preventing him from talking to his daughter. “She also stopped the child from going to school, which resulted in a complaint being filed by the Ministry of Education,” the father said.
In another case, a father of three children said that his two eldest children, now adults, had become alienated.
However, he said that he had fought to stay in contact with his youngest child. “It took years for the court to issue a decree, and based on that, the mother and I shared custody of the child 50-50.”
For her part, the Committee’s chair, Irene Charalambidou, complained about understaffing in the Social Welfare Department, noting that only two officers were working on Nicosia cases.
“Recently, one of them fainted in court due to exhaustion.” She also complained that a total of eight officers had been tasked with preparing over 500 reports in 2023.
During the discussion, the absence of psychological support for the child and both parents, psychiatric evaluation of the parents, and the absence of psychologists in schools were also emphasised.
