"If you tolerate this then your children will be next."
Manic Street Preachers

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The civil rights group Fathers 4 Justice (F4J) was founded in December 2002 by Matt O'Connor after he experienced first hand the injustices of the secret family courts as he struggled to see his two boys Daniel and Alexander after a traumatic divorce. Started as a vehicle for social change, F4J quickly became the high-wire act of protest groups, whether powder-bombing the Prime Minister in the House of Commons, scaling the balcony at Buckingham Palace in a Batman Costume, invading the Pulpit at York Minster during a General Synod Service or taking the National Lottery Draw live off air on BBC1 in front of ten million viewers.

But behind the headlines and dramatic protests is a new creed for family law enshrined in our documents "Family Justice On Trial ­ Opening The Door On Closed Courts" and "Blueprint For Family Law In The 21st Century." These pioneering, ideas-led documents set out radical and visionary frameworks for a fair, just, open and equitable system of family law. Both documents are essential reading and available on this web site for the first time.

O'Connor temporarily suspended operations on 18th January 2006 after extremist elements from splinter groups were accused in the Sun Newspaper of plotting to kidnap the Prime Minister's son. At the time he said "We are in the business of reuniting children with their fathers, not separating them."

Since then the group has resumed activities, combining constructive engagement with direct action, recommencing activities on May 20th 2006 with it's controversial "Family Law Lotto: Next Time It Could Be You" protest on BBC1.

A series of spectacular protests are planned for 2007 including "Fathers 4 Justice Day," a unique Father's Day protest to be held in London on Friday, 15th June 2007.

F4J campaigns not just in the name of the father, but in the name of all parents, grandparents and children seeking equality in family law. The achievements of F4J to date are best described by the Times Newspaper who in January 2006 wrote:

"F4J caught the spirit of the times: they reflected the zeitgeist, and they changed it...for all the flaws within F4J, the issue of fatherhood has a currency that would have been unimaginable three years ago...when historians look back on British Society at the start of the third millennium, they will accord a small but important chapter to the men in tights."

In just a few years Fathers 4 Justice has not only effected "climate change", but it has also succeeded in discrediting the secret courts and undermining public confidence in them. The result has been to force the government to advance proposals to open up the secret family courts to greater scrutiny and propose tougher enforcement of contact orders.

"The current system of family justice is a grotesque obscenity that is untenable in its current form. We do not recognise the authority of these secret courts. Whatever it takes, however long it takes and whatever the sacrifice, we will prevail and achieve the reforms that every child and family in this country desperately deserve and need."
Matthew O'Connor, Founder, Fathers 4 Justice