Dads charity accused of denying other fathers access to their kids
The charity Families Need Fathers (FNF) faces disturbing claims that its members have been denying other dads access to their children in the family courts.
McKenzie Friends who work for the charity are said to have represented mothers who have denied fathers access to their children, as well as in cases where children have been alienated from their dads.
According to one father, who contacted Fathers4Justice, a McKenzie Friend who is advertised and accredited by FNF, acted in a ‘humiliating and intimidating way’ towards him outside court when he was representing the mother. The mother had denied him access to his child for several years and had a known history of violence.
In a separate case, an FNF member attempted to coerce a father into attending a Domestic Violence Perpetrators Programme before he could see his son.
In January 2017 it was revealed that Families Need Fathers were involved in the Everyman Domestic Violence Perpetrators Programme and may have being paid referral fees for advising fathers to attend the course which is used to delay dads having contact with their children.
FNF were listed under a heading that read, ‘helping men change their unacceptable behaviour’. A link to the course has since been taken down.
The course is for men only, guarantees dads no contact with their children at the end of the course, and no such course exists for violent mothers.
Families Need Fathers are also said to be removing the word ‘father’ from their web site and literature as they aim to become gender neutral in an attempt to secure a reported £50,000 of government funding.
The charity were reported to have been given over half-a-million by the government following the creation of Fathers4Justice in 2001.
FNF also work closely with solicitors firms across the UK. It is not known whether they are paid for referrals.
