Spain’s Law on the Protection of Minors against Violence has undergone a reform with several key changes announced, including the fact that all children must now be heard in legal proceedings.
Also known as ‘Rhodes Law,’ named after the pianist who suffered sexual abuse as a child, the Law on the Protection of Minors against Violence aims to guarantee the best interests of the child in complex situations
Spain’s Cabinet recently approved a new draft reform of this law which seeks to improve upon it and make it stronger.
The reform “aims to address where the current law has failed,” explained Sira Rego, Spain’s Minister of Youth and Children.
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One of the most significant and important changes to the law is that children must be heard in any legal process that affects them, regardless of age. Up until now, only children over 12 years or who were “sufficiently mature” were obliged to testify.
This new reform aligns with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which in Article 12a guarantees the child the opportunity to be heard in any proceedings that affect them.
“Now, they will be able to speak without age limits or limitations on their circumstances,” family lawyer Ana Rodríguez told news site RTVE.
Other legal experts have called for this to be done in a way which ensures children testify in “a safe environment,” such as a one-way mirror observation room, which is less intimidating than a courtroom.
To this end, specialised legal aid services will be created for victims of violence against children and adolescents within the Bar Association.
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- The reform also includes the right to reparations for minors who have been victims of sexual violence, making them “full” holders of the Victim Statute – a law that establishes a series of rights for all victims of crime, from before the criminal process until the final sentencing.
- It will now stipulate that joint custody cannot be established when signs point to the fact that the decision could negatively affect the physical, mental or emotional health of child. If a child also expresses rejection of one of their parents, the system must investigate the reasons why. This could include removing the child from the person who abuses them.
- From now on, the consent of just one parent will be sufficient for a minor victim of violence to access psychological, social, or legal support. This will “prevent the aggressor from having veto power over reparation,” Rego explained.
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- It includes mandatory and specialised training for all professions linked to children such as education, health, social services or the justice system, “in order to guarantee early detection, appropriate intervention, understanding of trauma or avoid re-victimisation”.
- Lastly, the new text expressly prohibits scientifically unsupported claims such as parental alienation syndrome (when one parent allegedly manipulates the child to reject the other parent), which means not admitting any public or private reports based on them in court and challenging any rulings that use them as a basis. “Spain is the first country to prohibit their use by law,” the minister emphasised, referring to these “pseudoscientific” reports that were already considered invalid.
The law, however, avoids any articles related to the ongoing debate about children attending bullfights, and does not introduce changes to the current visitation system for cases of abuse.
According to Rego, the government will address this latter issue in the Law on Violence Against Women.
The draft bill will now be submitted for public consultation before being put back to the vote for final approval before it can come into force.
