Fathers4Justice Condemn Government Shared Parenting Proposals as ‘Worst Ever Father’s Day Card’
Fathers4Justice today condemned government proposals to ‘strengthen’ shared parenting legislation as ‘the worst ever Father’s Day card’ dads could receive this Sunday.
F4J described the proposals as a ‘masterclass in obfuscation’ designed to conceal the truth about the family courts from the public, which would fail to reduce the number of children being separated from their fathers in family courts. The proposals are described as deficient for the following reasons:
There is no definition of ‘shared parenting’ or a ‘meaningful relationship’.
The proposals maintain the obscenity that is the family court process. Courts are for criminals, not families.
There is no right in law for fathers or grandparents to see their children or grandchildren.
There is no presumption of shared or equal parenting.
The main proposal treats every father as a risk to his children, prefaced as it is by the proviso ‘where it is safe to do so and in the child’s best interests. F4J say this only applies to fathers as they make are the ones who make the applications to the court, this does not apply to mums or their new partners.
The proposals fall seriously short of the pre-election promises made by the Conservative Party before the last election.
Said Campaign Director Nadine O’Connor, “This was an opportunity for the government to say how much they valued the role of fathers this Father’s Day but fathers have been insulted again by the governments failure to ensure fathers have the same rights as mothers to see their children in this country.
“There have been 10 years of consultations and the only thing that has been changed in that time is the court room furniture. These shallow, vacuous proposals are the cruelest type of political deceit as they are deliberately designed to kick this issue into the long grass for another generation.”
“The last decade has seen the single biggest act of social engineering ever seen in this country which has seen the systematic removal of children from their fathers. The government treats dads with such a barely disguised contempt it never mentions the ‘f’ word once.”
“This is a catastrophic failure in the government’s duty of care to children and families and will produce the worst economic and social outcomes for our children this country as a result.”
The group which launches its ‘Fatherless Games’ campaign this Father’s Day weekend at the Olympic Countdown clock, has called for a public enquiry into the operation of the family justice system headed by Sir Bob Geldof.
