Constructive Activism
DIVORCE LAWS: Family Court loathed for the vast harm it does
The Americans have a well-known saying for politicians, “It’s the economy, stupid!” — meaning that what matters most for people are economic issues. It’s false.
What matters most to people, and most affects their well-being, are close relationships, and above all family relationships. These are areas where politicians and bureaucrats can do only limited good but almost limitless harm, and huge harm is being done.
Here are some facts regarding Australia today. If there’s a marriage or relationship break-up involving children, and custody or access is in dispute, the parties must submit to an inquisition by Family Court social-workers or the latters’ pet psychologists regarding their past behaviour towards and in the presence of the children.
A major purpose of the exercise is to identify “family violence” by the male, with this being defined as any behaviour “actual or threatened” which causes any member of the family “to fear for, or reasonably to be apprehensive about, his or her personal well-being or safety”.
The term “well-being” is infinitely elastic, and meant to be, as are the other catch-all Family Court categories of “family violence”, such as “psychological violence/abuse”, “emotional violence/abuse”, and “controlling behaviours”.
Invitation to join the Non-Custodial Parents Party (Equal Parenting).
If you would be interested in joining the Australian Non-Custodial Parents (Equal Parenting) party, would you please fill in the attached membership form.
Membership is free (as usual).
Our web-site is: http://www.equalparenting.org.au/ and our membership form can be downloaded from: http://www.equalparenting.org.au/membership-2/
Could you either then: 1. Scan the signed copy of the membership form and email it to me
or 2. Fax a signed copy to me on (02) 4226 3510.
or 3. Mail a signed copy to me at PO Box 57, THIRROUL. NSW. 2515.
As noted above, membership is free. Other family members and friends may be also interested in joining the Party.
Israel Takes Steps To Reduce Discrimination Against Divorced Fathers
Jerusalem — January 20, 2012 …. For many divorced fathers in Israel, the declaration yesterday by Israel Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman that divorced parents must now share custody of children, may have come too late. Neeman has accepted recommendations by the Schnit Committee that joint parental custody be ordered in divorce cases involving young children, which the law defines as those up to age 6. Until now, most divorced fathers became visitors, being limited to seeing their children only a few hours a week.
As the new law comes into affect, thousands of dads in Israel would have lost any opportunity of fatherhood due to the fact that their children have already grown up or that their children suffer from PAS – Parental Alienation Syndrome. With PAS the children become alienated against the father as the mother has pushed him away and brainwashed the children that he is of no worth, or perhaps even bad for whatever reason she creates.
‘We don’t care about Family Violence against Men’ – Service providers betray their Charter
Editors Note: A F4E member recently received an email from Relationships Australia, presumably because he was a client of their service at some point during his separation.
This email highlighted a new program made available at Relationships Australia – Westmead NSW, called “Family safety – Women’s Choice and Change”.
Given this member’s history, it comes as no surprise that he was infuriated by this email, and has written back to Relationships Australia challenging them on why such services are evidently not available for male victims of abuse.
This member was in fact a victim of abuse and violence from his ex-wife, and has complained bitterly in the past at the lack of services available for male victims of abuse, and the completely dismissive disinterest in ‘male pain’ as he calls it, by organisations established to protect victims of abuse.
This man eventually won full custody of his young child, but only after the child was seriously injured by the mother. Up until that point, this man claims to have been criminalised by a system that only supported and believed women.
Below is his email to Relationships Australia.
Open Letter to the Senate Inquiry by a Concerned Father on the Family Violence Bill
The following is a rebuttal to the Senate made by a concerned father in response to erroneous, misleading and misguided research submitted to the Senate Inquiry into the Family Violence Bill, 2011, claiming that Australia’s 2006 Shared Parenting legislation has forced children to live with paedophiles, and other absurd and unsubstantiated claims that lack any credible or relevant evidence.
This is an admirable initiative from one man, and is a great example of constructive activism.
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Dear Senators,
I am writing to rebut the “evidence” that shared parenting forces children to live with paedophiles, submitted on notice by Justice for Children.
I point out that this submission cites caselaw made 30 years before the shared parental responsibility amendments were enacted and quotes irrelevant UK judgements in which supervised contact was ordered to protect the father from further child sexual abuse allegations. Briggs consistently refers to interim orders where findings of fact cannot be made. Apparently they don’t expect anyone to check.
