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Can a boy of twelve testify against his father?
Anonymous2 views3 answers
My father is a very irresponsible man. He "forgets" things. like how he forgot to pick me up from school and left me in the rain until 5:00. (despite school getting out at 2:00.) He will "forget" to buy food. He forces me to sleep on a couch, in a sleeping bag, in an iffy neighborhood, in a blind-less, (curtain-less, mind you,) living room. He and my stepmother will constantly complain about me, Saying I'm, "Ruining their relationship," or how I'm "too aggressive." Sometimes they will go out to, "get milk." and will "only be 5 minutes." They will come back at about 1 in the morning, drunk as can be. the walls are paper thin, and you can hear the things they do in there as if they were in the next room over. it is not a safe environment. i want to know if i can testify against my father if the situation gets worse. thank you.
The appropriate thing to do would be to talk to your father, and he refuses to fix the problems, tell your school counselor and they can call Child Protective Services.
Whether or not you can actually testify in the traditional sense depends on the situation and judge. And it will depend on what type of case. If you are talking about changing custody so you can live with your mom, you likely would not take the witness stand and actually testify like on TV, but you might have your voice heard through a counselor or you may be allowed to talk to the Judge. I recommend you keep some kind of journal with notes about these situations so you have precise days and times. Probably best this be online in a cloud document, so it can't be erased if your dad finds it. Beyond that, I very much agree with my colleagues. You need to bring your concerns to trusted adults. I am impressed by your ability to express yourself in writing and would encourage you to utilize what resources you can to improve yourself and your situation. If you are stuck with dad because there is no real abuse/neglect and/or mom is not an option, then look for extracurricular activities, clubs, volunteer opportunities, Big Brothers/Sisters, read, do chores, and keep your grades up.
