There is bias in Family Courts.It is inevitable in the current system and most of us have already agreed with that. In accordance with the ICJ Statute, judges, either permanent or ad hoc, shall exercise their powers impartially.But in reality, can this expectation be achieved? That shows a lack of even willingness to engage with the pain, fear and loneliness felt by many. E.g. But as cumbersome or as unromantic as it might seem, today, it is absolutely necessary. Of course the facts will be tested rigidly and correct procedure followed. If supported by their legal team or indeed if they are acting under such strict directives from lawyers, some stupid ( and possibly gender-biased SW’s would regard it as their duty to permanently liquidate any family where a father has bashed his wife no matter what the circumstances. Anecdotally, many ‘resident parents’ knowingly engage in false accusations of abuse or in behaviour directed towards parental alienation as a means of exacting revenge against their ex-partner. I have already commented on accusations that I am ‘sexist’ in this post, which may also be worth a read if this is something that concerns you. 80% of women receive custody of children following the collapse of the relationship. All of your constitutional rights are being violated in family court. The Policeman who fails to do his job, charge the offender and bring him before a court which will reform him or the man himself? Is it sanctioned by either law or culture that the mother holds a veto on the father’s contact? I would like to start by remembering that Fathers and Children have feelings, as well as mothers. So too has a mans role. This is not merely a problem when dealing with an ex wife but also in the UK at least the family justice system is very female heavy (apart from judges). Sarah, I do appreciate your comment, but you cannot really deny the corruption now out in the open as a result of the on going public enquiry nor the corruption widely reported in many parts of the country which has been described as ‘cultural’ within social services departments over at least the last sixty years. It’s a lovely day here.. Yes, I do agree and I have seen it. This is a clear and keen concern for many; see for example the recent speech by McFarlane LJ. The Judges in the family Court are biased against families in favour of the Local Authority. Perhaps, I’m old fashioned but I certainly would not be forcing Mum to let me have regular contact by court -order but if a court ordered contact ,I would obey the order. We spoke cordially before the court proceedings started and met for walks and lunch. It is certainly not the will of the people that children are left to kill themselves, Sorry but wake up. often put before the court and it recognises that miscarriages of justice result from it. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Many men don’t want to get involved. The important question is how do we prevent it not whether men suffer it more than women. A moves out of the jointly owned home. this is nothing to do with lawyers. Of course, I still agree with women should have full equal rights with men and vice-versa. World view, my eye! Thus our attempts to be constructive go nowhere. And do you know – all three of us were accused of emotional abuse, and all three wives of these professional, higher degree educated managers claimed to be afraid for their safety without a single piece of evidence or an arrest between any of us.. Don’t you dare lecture me on ‘effort’ and what I do or don’t do. I would decide on facts as a divorce judge does. We are drawing together a series of research threads that are seeking to test the proposition that the Family Justice system has a gender bias. i think it is abundantly clear that the majority of primary carers of young children are women. laughing all the way.. formula to screw your life over. I was tricked by a lifelong friend into having a child. But majority of lawyers are female. He showed the judge the printouts of the transaction he had made and the judge said “you could have just typed that up yourself” and made him pay again. An unusual judgement – so unusual its used as a case reference and has been cited by many legal websites, lawyers and advocates since. There is no interest in the fact that I remarried and now have a new child to support. I think the media has to take responsibility in how it reports domestic violence also. I honestly can’t cite the source. I am supposing that some women will admit that not everything they do is 100% correct all the time so what is it they do which upsets some men? I’m glad you have managed to be a human being for 46 years, long may it continue. IMHO – Those injuries are very different only similar in that they are traumatic. A family Court should not decisions on the basis of their concerns that a man might be a pervert ‘just in case’ a child might be at risk. Jamie, Perhaps you have hit the nail firmly on the head; the Courts are biased against non-resident parents. Interesting discussion, to which I can only add that the sexual revolution and the ensuing ease of access to divorce and normalization of out-of-wedlock parenthood have upended among many other things what seemed previously to be fairly well-delineated boundaries about a man’s sphere and a woman’s sphere. You must accept the facts and realise that the corruption is ‘covered -up’. “I do not regard a governmental policy of enforced austerity or enforced lack of resources as a pressing social need which justifies ignoring the convention.”. I am weary of the army of social workers, advisors, solicitors and judges who presume to lecture and question me on my ability to parent my son and who gain employment from trafficking in human misery. Psychiatric Placements were no available all along Angelo, some other young person lost their bed so she could have one and Munby is quite clear I think about what he thinks about that . A man wants his partner to be happy and singing jollily and to have the knowledge that she is living a stress-free existence. Don’t even argue with me because I will school you. A lot of men are indifferent because they don’t see themselves ever being in this situation until they are. And we all have some responsibility for that. You state that ” the issue of fathers who walk away is every bit as painful and difficult as the issue of the mothers who deliberately sabotage a loving father’s relationship with a child” The double standard comes if a stay at home dad tried to pull the same nonsense he would rightly be lambasted and rebuked. Guess who gets paid first by the state….Judges…..So yes there is collusion, fraud, and bias because most of the time not always the father makes the most money. or example the recent speech by McFarlane LJ. A lawyer told me about a hidden financial bias when it comes to child support in America. My main point is that revenge is being used here as a stick to beat someone with, and seemingly the authorities, powers that be etc., are only prepared to listen to one side of an issue. This must be corrected. Lady justice peeked through her blindfold and tipped the scale. often leave someone without a voice in situations affecting them. In Denmark for example, fathers are awarded custody closer to 40 percent of the time. age of children I have given reasons why and I suppose such a law might not be entirely fair in cases where Dad is a househusband. Week later resident parent refuses for no reason, parent who wants contact has to pay another 215 for this privilege. Don’t be ignorant. Get real!i Help families, don’t ruin them. Outside the Court arena, in the home setting,i agree with the post author that many men do not appreciate how frightening they can be to women ( and children, i will add) when they are angry. None of them. (These things you believe are also rubbish but that’s another argument entirely). It shocked my mother when I pointed her biased attitude towards the particular ‘mother’ that destroyed her son. In previous discussions we have wondered why it is that some men (a small majority) are over-controlling and sometimes even resort to violence when unhappy with their home life etc. Then we can draw attention to common malpractices and persuade them to pay more attention to procedures. Please tell me more. Very few direct questions are answered . If there is no definitive evidence ( such as a conviction) that dv and /or controlling has occurred between the couple ( whichever the perpetrator) then it is ridiculous to allow them both to stand there making allegations and counter-allegations. Thank you for pointing out that there is a distinction between a commiseration and an apology. Having a Twitter spat can be entertaining for a brief moment but its utterly futile if all it achieves is people shouting at one another across the electronic abyss. She said he hadn’t paid – and provided no evidence such as bank statements. I am not criticising anyone personally but you are deluded if you still think that LA’S prioritise the needs /safety of children. 8th Family Law & Children’s Rights Conference July 2021, Singapore. Thousands of children each year are still being denied time with both parents due to failings in the system I just wish we could see it. This increases the gross amount of child support collected, which then increases the kickbacks that states receive for collecting “child support”. It brutalises people, I can see that. B sought help for A on many occasions, but A refused to acknowledge any issues. I had been thinking and worrying about it for a while. 69%-90% of these divorces are initiated by women. I think we just don’t talk enough about this and it causes great pain. I am not criticising women ,especially career women who want a career but in the slice of history I am talking about , it was considered best to allow the child’s brain to develop more and the experts advised the optimum age to start education was 5 years of age. I shall read with interest. This is clearly an issue that generates strong feelings. The lack of a bed is a damning inditement of what our society will tolerate. I hope no-one denies that women are more important to families in the grand scheme of things and should be respected. Even after this result which has seen my daughters long term psychological health and happiness put ahead of her mothers claims, I genuinely believe the family courts are biased against men. Walk down any street in any town now and you will see men pushing a push chair or pram down the street. I can understand why – it’s a lot safer and easier to prevent a dad seeing his kid ‘because he might be abusive’. Me,personally— I am of the opinion that the system is inherently biased against all parents and children in favour of the professionals EMPLOYED BY THE LA’s and even the Judges show them and Guardian’s ‘positive’ bias because of the Court protocol. It is disgraceful assault upon common sense and the rule of law. Men doing the night feeds and the nappies, men shopping and in the kitchen. You also need to remember the generous divorce settlement packages that women almost always seem to get. This is of course not my personal responsibility but I can still feel compassion for a human in pain. The idea that family courts are biased against men is a dangerous fallacy. That is the main purpose of the Children Act. As I said the man is a human being and may get aggressive by human nature. DATA. So, if you would like to move on and engage in some debate on that basis then I might be interested to discuss views on the secrecy in the family court system for example. We should all examine universal facts. You have not seen it mainly because you don’t get to see and hear the poor ,wretched child victims who aren’t called to give evidence and you don’t go to see them yourself. This will never happen because it is manifestly NOT the will of the people to see taxation increased. But because they make a choice and they find someone they can truly communicate with and therefore have the best chance of parenting well together. We should not centre our research solely upon the ‘slice of history’ of history through which you are passing ,Sarah .There are no time machines. To reply to Charl’s comment by ‘blaming’ one gender for the creation of a child is exactly where our gender bias lies. I have read the thread with interest due to being in the same boat as many non resident parents with certain allegations in the air. I am merely pointing out that our gender bias problems are a societal problem that start at the very beginning, which get way out of control by the end when it all falls apart. I am concerned as to the impact of these experiences will have especially on the youngest. That is a sad situation. We are all responsible for ourselves and our behaviour. It was said that people were unaffected by alcohol and it was safe to drive up to that line. Regarding the lawyers; as Sarah says they have to carry out the instructions of their clients.Of course,in practice the instructions arrive to them from the LA legal team ,solicitors themselves who are led by a borough or city solicitor that signs under oath all applications etc. I wrote quite clearly on this occasion and others that violent men should be brought to justice, punished if found guilty and when necessary imprisoned to protect his family and others. JUDGES: Judges are at the top of the court pyramid. Society in general perceives that men are the perpetrators and women & children are victims in ALL cases. My view, as an ordinary parent bearing in mind the separation of powers and other principles , is that should the young girl in question and other damaged children need money spending on their care especially medical care then it is the duty of the authorities to supply it . Prof. Starr leaves that question to policymakers, but she does note that the solution “is not necessarily to lock up a lot more women, but perhaps to reconsider the decision-making criteria that are applied to men. It is my clear belief, after many years as a woman and parent, that our society does not value activities around child care. Its horrible. Family court will stop being bias against men when they have the same legal right to terminate legal obligations that women have towards unborn children and children that aren’t theirs. Therefore on this EARTH it is the job of lawyers to put it right ! Primary carer is not a designated role, it’s a natural role that emerges. thanks Paul for your constructive and helpful comment. The child protection system is too feminised, I agree with that. I don’t come home and shout at and belittle my family. But if you just want to insult me, I am unlikely to find that persuasive. I am not trying to be glib or flippant but I suspect it seems that way. Unsurprisingly Angelo, I don’t consider condemning violent people as having ‘low standards’ Suffice to say some people handle this pressure better than others; some just give up and shirk their responsibilities; some enter an eternally lossy blame game. As several studies and publications have reported, females victims approx 57%, males victims 43% I was very concerned for example, to hear at the conference on Saturday that Dr Sue Whitcombe was alarmed by the bias she perceived from such agencies as CAFCASS, against fathers. 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