When David Cameron said in February 2007 "We need to make it as socially unacceptable for fathers to avoid their responsibilities as drink driving now is", the hearts of thousands of men sank.
Fathers, in another victory for political correctness, were once again seen as easy targets for further stigmatisation by politicians, the courts, the CSA and the media. It is almost as if the politicians think only men are to blame for a divorce (70% of divorces are started by a woman) and that men CHOOSE not to want to live with their children.
Fathers Day, would have been the hardest day of the year for many fathers who despite paying their dues, are denied access to their children because the mothers of their children deny them access and the courts fail to enforce contact orders. Fathers have few places to make their suffering heard and whilst some turned to Fathers4Justice campaigns, others are turning to blogs/web-sites/support groups which seem to spring up on a weekly basis.
There are very few supportive commentators in the mainstream media and the awful anti-male and factually incorrect spin put on the CSA replacement storys by the media (except the BBC - link) last week (link) gives little succour.
The story (link) combined the announcement of the newly created Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (C-MEC) with the story that absent parents will be named and shamed on various web-sites, alongside all manner of punishments including taking money directly out of people's bank accounts. This is scary Big Brother/Stalinist stuff especially considering how awful the CSA was at calculating the right money and how they drove some men to suicide.
The spin and distortion that turned the story from one of absent parents to one of 'deadbeat dads' was shocking even by today's standards and especially when it is based on a myth.
The Guardian in 2006 (link), revealed that "The popular image of feckless fathers who leave the marital home and refuse to pay any money towards the upkeep of their former wife and children has been much exaggerated, according to new figures from the CSA."
The figures showed that in a three month sample period, 30% of non-resident parents were non-payers. 31% of women did not pay whilst it was 30% of men.
All mainstream media except the BBC, changed the wording in the CSA announcement though from absent parents to:-
Mortgage bans for 'deadbeat dads' who won't pay up (Daily Mail - 7th June 2007)
Fathers who are absent to be fined automatically (The Guardian - 6th June 2007)
Credit blacklist for absent fathers who don't pay (The Daily Telegraph - 7th June 2007)
100 absent fathers to be named by child agency (The Times - 7th June 2007)
Web list will make dodgy fathers pay (The Metro - 7th June 2007)
Absent dads face fines crackdown (Daily Express - 6th June 2007)
Named and shamed on the net (Daily Mirror - 6th June 2007)
Dodging Fathers to be Fined (The Sun - 6th June 2007)
This distortion by the British media shows how sub-consciously and lazily anti-male and anti-father many elements of society have become. Let's hope that next Father's Day, the terrible portrayal of British fathers by politicians and the media will have changed.
Whingeing amoungst ouselves is of no use. Complain to waterstones http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayMailUs.do
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Posted by: Chris | Tuesday, 28 August 2007 at 00:27