ICT-enabled Communication in the Family Court: Eliciting the Child’s Voice

摘要

This paper explores ICT-enabled communication for children in separated families in New Zealand and for the families themselves in their communication with the public sphere and with public authority. Within the multiple private spaces occupied by the post-separation family, financial, custodial and technological inequalities are likely to exist. Results to date suggest that a significant catalyst for children’s voices is their higher ICT skill level. The same can be argued for parents’ voices. ICT is valued by legal practitioners to facilitate running their own business but the importance of ICT for children and their parents is not recognized by them. Furthermore, members of the helping professions do not possess high ICT skill levels and do not perceive the use of ICT as a means of representing children’s views or those of their parents.