Impact of Divorce on Children's Rights: An Analysis

Divorce is the most devastating event in the life of a woman. In India, only women are treated as the sole victims of such events, which is not true. But the reality is something different, which shows negligence on the part of the children. In the present Indian legal system, children are treated as affected parties only in custody issues. Researcher in this paper reveals how divorce is affecting the children's well-being, along with their several rights. The paper discusses that the impact of divorce on children violates his/her human rights, i.e., the right to an adequate standard of living, as after divorce, they are deprived of the parent union that non-divorced parents' children enjoy. Divorced parents' children have to live with the socio-economic status of lone parenthood, which results in various problems like behaviour difficulty, psychological maladjustment in school, delinquent behaviour, anger issues, and engagement in illegal sexual activities etc. This paper finds that divorced parents' children are deprived of their legal rights and responsibilities. The Present Legal system is immaterial towards the children's right to choices in case of custody and visitation. When they attain the age of majority, the selection of a parent is not of their choice, and children have to live with others' choices for their whole life. There are many other children's rights, such as the right to education, residence, medical care, inheritance, etc. In disability cases, children need full responsibility, which is upon the parents. Are they actually getting their right in their fullest? If they are not getting their rights, is there any remedy available to them? In order to protect their rights, is there any mechanism or law present in the Indian legal system? Researcher suggests that Divorced parents' children constitute their own special category. Therefore, there is a need for a separate law to protect the rights of such children and establish a check on their responsibilities.