46 ANNUAL REPORT 2013 Overall, our assistance often consists of us placing the complaint in a legal framework by formulating the child’s or young person’s wishes so they fit within the framework of legislation. Doing that, we are able to convey their wishes or complaints to the relevant authorities and we can keep an eye on whether the child/young person actually receives a reply. The latter is usually done by asking the authority for a copy of its reply to the child/young person. We cannot promise confidentiality Even though we endeavour to meet children and young people with understanding and sympathy, the Ombudsman’s Children’s Division cannot offer a place of confidentiality. The reason for this is that the Ombudsman is legally obligated to involve the authorities or private institutions to which the complaints pertain. If we speak with the children and young people, we bring this to their attention, and this information is also to be found on the Internet site of the Children’s Division. Furthermore, children and young people are subject to parental custody, so if we take a complaint from a child/young person further, for instance by contacting the authorities, the starting point is that we are legally obligated to inform the custodial parent about the case. In regard to conflicts between parents – typically cases about access and parental custody – we often see that the children get caught in the middle of the parental conflict. In such cases, it can be difficult to avoid a situation where the children get further involved in the conflict as a result of their enquiry to the Children’s Division. However, there are children and young people who make use of the possibility of contacting the Children’s Division anonymously, either by telephone or on the chat function on the Internet site of the Children’s Division, to have an informal talk about their situation and what is going to happen if they lodge a complaint. But we cannot help them with their complaint until we know their identity. In our experience, the Children’s Division is best able to help children and young people who make their own enquiries in cases pertaining to for instance authorities or institutions and not enquiries in regard to their parents. Other things being equal, public officials are better at handling criticism from a child/ young person or at dealing with independent views and wishes which do not match their own.