Non-custodial parents appeal for better access

Nearly 4,455 divorce pleas were filed in Bandra family court last year that not only spelt increased bitterness among couples but also mental repercussions on their kids.

In an informal gathering between psychiatrists, legal pundits and non-custodial parents at Sion Hospital on Saturday, the need for better access rooms and mandatory child assessment by principle judges was discussed.
"Access rooms must be made more comfortable for parents to foster better parent-child relations. There is no doubt that the child is the biggest victim in a case of divorce. Children also require counseling," said Dr Kersi Chavda, vice president of the Bombay Psychiatry Society. Muskaan, a child NGO involved with counseling children of divorced parents, says that it sees less than two per cent children from divorce cases.