Single mothers are losing income as they pursue overdue child maintenance through backlogged courts, the National Organisation of Women (NOW) said as it backed a court reform package brought to Parliament on Tuesday.
NOW President Melissa Savoury-Gittens welcomed the proposed modernisation of the judicial system, saying simpler court procedures were long overdue for families dealing with sensitive legal cases.
She said: “I think first that the modernisation of the court system, making it more accessible, especially for mothers, is a great thing.
“I always say justice delayed is justice denied, and when you have to go to court [for] years to talk about abuse that happened so long ago and have to rehash that whole trauma, it’s hard on a person.”
The proposed reforms aim to ease operational pressures on the family courts, which have been severely strained by logistical difficulties.
Changes to court locations, including the closure of the St Matthias Magistrates’ Court and the use of shared facilities in Oistins, have placed an undue financial and emotional burden on women seeking legal redress, Savoury-Gittens said.
“They have to go further, so they have to pay more bus fare in some cases, but also the fact that the backlog is happening.
“The online system might be able to help [reduce] that backlog… because we have people just hanging in the system, not being able to get any assistance.”
The NOW president also spoke of the growing financial pressures on custodial parents during prolonged legal delays. She said attending court frequently meant low-income earners lost income while pursuing overdue financial support.
“People don’t think about the simple things, and I use the word simple because, for example, bus fare – you might think somebody should have that.”
She stressed that when these families take a day off to attend court it results in lost wages, transport expenses and additional childcare costs, meaning parents are losing money precisely when they are trying to secure assistance.
According to Savoury-Gittens, these delays also put pressure on the wider social welfare system, as mothers left without timely child maintenance cannot make up the shortfall through other forms of support.
While backing the shift towards digital hearings and electronic recordings to remove travel and waiting-room difficulties, NOW raised concerns about data integrity and equal access to technology.
Referring to past cybersecurity breaches and disruptions during remote proceedings, Savoury-Gittens called for stronger safeguards.
The NOW leader also addressed unequal access to technology, noting that a significant proportion of vulnerable households lacked reliable internet connections or even basic utilities.
To prevent marginalised women from being excluded from virtual hearings, Savoury-Gittens backed the legal affairs minister’s proposal to use community spaces as secure locations for digital access.
(RR)
