International legal mechanism to protect the rights of children who are victims and witnesses of crime

Abstract

Children are at risk of significant psychological harm when parents separate. For most, that risk does not lead to long-term adverse consequences. Children weather the storm. They adjust to the post-separation circumstances. However, parental separation leaves its imprint, and changes the course of children's lives. Children may feel a profound sense of loss that lasts for years, but ‘poor outcomes are far from inevitable’.