The Rights Of Man

MALE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS INCREASE BY 29%

The 2006/07 British Crime Survey (link) published on 19th July 2007 revealed that in 2006/07 (April 06-Mar 07) 93,000 men were victims of domestic violence. This was a 29% increase from 2005/06 when the figure was 72,000.

The full statistics on domestic violence can be found here (link) and the figures for 2001-2007 are below:-

   

The big issue is that despite the evidence that since 2001, 24% of victims have been male, there continues to be a lack of media (link) and society recognition and specialist services such as refuges for male victims. This issue has been covered here in detail (link):-

• Men make up 24% of domestic violence victims in the past six years;
• 1 in 6 men will become victims of domestic violence in their lifetime;
• There are no male-only refuges in the UK as opposed to over 470 for women. There are five women’s refuges that have at most 11 places for men;
• There are only three small charities funded mainly by donations helping male victims whilst female charities receive huge state funding;
• Local authorities receive £59 million per year in government funding to support female domestic violence victims and receive nothing to support men.

With the Gender Equality Duty now placed on the state including local authorities, there is a duty now to provide services for male victims which they patently not doing as investigated by the excellent work by Men's Aid (link).

CSA DROP NAME AND SHAME

On 26th June 2007, the CSA published its first list of people (all men) who they had taken to court for information offences (link) and was covered here (link).

A story in The Metro this week said that "The controversial plan...has been shelved after just four weeks - because of a lack of interest. Visits to the web-site...waned after quickly after an initial peak. James Plaskitt MP said 'in light of this we will not publish further names'."

There is no link to the story on the web but Familes Need Fathers (link) issued a press release:-

The Child Support Agency (CSA) acknowledges the ineffectiveness of the proposed naming and shaming policy. Families Need Fathers (FNF) are relieved that this draconian measure has been recognized as unsuitable.

Controversial government plans to ‘name and shame’ fathers who have failed to pay maintenance have been suspended after it’s lack of success. The website detailing ‘deadbeat dads’ has met with significant criticism as an ineffectual scheme which would have little benefit for anyone involved, least of all the child.

John Baker, FNF Chair, said of the decision, “We welcome this move, and hope that it indicates a more pragmatic approach to the issue of CSA maintenance and new leadership. We feel that less confrontational means are likely to produce better results.”

“For a body whose purpose is essentially to protect the child, it is hard to see how public humiliation of one of its parents could possibly be appropriate,” he added.

This is another defeat for the feminist fundamentalists who wanted to conduct a witch hunt in their quest to turn society into men-haters. The British public are not into state 'naming and shaming' especially when the state organisation is as incompetent as the CSA.

AWARD FOR AMERICAN EQUAL PARENTING CAMPAIGNER

In May, the following post (link) reported that Robert Pedersen and Rob Mackenzie from the USA will start a bicycle trek covering over 600 miles from Lansing, Michigan to Washington, D.C. 

The site Daddy Blogger (link) reports that Mr Pedersen was Runner-Up award in Best Life Magazine's Hero Dad Contest for his campaigning efforts for Equal Parenting. Great News.

ANOTHER GOVERNMENT PETITION ON PROSTATE SCREENING - PLEASE SIGN

A reader kindly sent over another petition on Prostate Screening. Please sign this as well as the one on yesterday's post.

Another prostate cancer petition is available here: (link)

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to introduce regular health screening for men over the age of 50 to detect early stages of prostate cancer.

30000 men each year are diagnosed with prostate cancer. Out of every 100 cancers diagnosed in men, 23 are prostate cancers. Often prostate cancer has no symptoms. Currently there are no regular checks available to men as there, rightly, are for breast and cervical cancer in women. Therefore 2 or 3 yearly blood tests would help to detect this killer in men aged 50 and above. I call upon the Prime Minister to introduce these tests immediately.

GOVERNMENT PETITION - PROSTATE TESTING : PLEASE SIGN

I have just discovered the following petitition on Prostate Cancer. Please sign it as soon as possible as it runs out in mid August. It had 1,500 signatures so far and was submitted by James Nicolson.

The petition is here (link)

"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to begin regular testing for prostate cancer in men between the ages of 40 and 70.

Prostate cancer is the largest cause of male deaths. A blood test, known as PSA, can indicate that there is a problem that needs investigating. In the Tryol district of Austria this is being done and the mortality rates have fallen. Too many men are being diagnosed only when it is too late for treatment to be more than palliative."

Editors Note : More petitions can be found here:-

CSA Injustice (link) - 22 signatories ; Minister for Men (link) - 293 signatories; Male DV victims (link) - 212 signatories and Family Equality (link) - 126 signatories

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE UK FAMILY LAW SYSTEM by BRIAN HITCHCOCK

The high point in UK Family Law was the creation of the Children Act 1989 but many Family Court judges since then have denied meaningful contact to non-resident parents for no good reason.

The Family Courts have become a bearpit where false allegations abound. It is about time that the entire Family Court system was opened to vigorous inspection.

Children of 8 years and above should be given the right to talk to the judge in their case as quite often their ascertainable wishes as regards contact with their non-resident parent are lost in the proceedings due to poor reporting by CAFCASS officers, social workers and other professionals.

Family Court judges have minimal training in Family Law matters. All Family Courts should allow lay people onto their business committees to allow for proper representation of consumers of Family Courts views.

There should also be a mechanism for Public Inquiries into Family Law cases where grave miscarriages of justice are alleged. The Family Law Society has been campaigning for the last three years for a Royal Commission to examine the operation of the Family Law system in the UK.

Editors Note : The Family Law Society can be found here (link)

IN PRAISE OF THE GIVE A FEW BOB CAMPAIGN - PLEASE MAKE A DONATION

One of the best advertisements of any kind recently has been the advert launched by the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation (link) featuring the late comedian Bob Monkhouse. The link to the campaign web-site is here (link) The campaign coincides with the 10th Everyman Male Cancer Awareness month (link).

Computer wizardry was used to show a warning by Monkhouse in Prostate Cancer Research's Give A Few Bob campaign.

Today almost 32,000 every year are diagnosed, and it has now overtaken lung cancer to become the most common cancer in men. The cancer kills 10,000 men per year abnd it receives ten times less funding per year than breast cancer

This increasing incidence is largely due to a higher number of cases being diagnosed, (through the greater use of PSA tests), and the influence of an ageing population.

Research into the disease was "10 years behind many other cancers" according to the Institute of Cancer Research. This proves it should be a higher health priority than it currently is and it is why men need a Minister for Men to make sure there is the government research funding that is sorely needed (link).

WHY MEN WILL BE IGNORED BY NEW EQUALITIES CHAIRMAN TREVOR PHILLIPS.

The Trevor Phillips cat has been let out of the bag and it is an ominous sign for men.

Trevor Phillips, who is now chairman of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) supposedly blew a fuse recently and threatened to quit because Gordon Brown's Cabinet does not have enough people who are female and/or from an ethnic background (link) and (link). Ignoring the latter issue and concentrating on the former which is what this site is about,  Mr Brown lowered the number of women Cabinet members from eight to five.

Trever Phillips' outburst showed that he believes that filling gender quota's are a more important qualification for being in the Cabinet than ability.

Gordon Brown has picked the people he thinks are best for the job (including the first ever female Home Secretary link) but this will not do for the politically correct world that Trevor Phillips and his organisation inhabit (at taxpayers expense).

As Trevor Phillips, no doubt, will continue in this vein, there are two ominous signs for men.

Firstly, Trevor Phillips lumps all people into different victim groups (except men) so instead of treating people as individuals first, gender second, gender is more important. In Phillips' world a girl from Rodean (link) has less opportunity than a man from an inner city comprehensive.

Secondly, in pursuit of his gender quotas, it means he wants positive discrimination for women which means negative discrimination for men. He would want a man dropped from the Cabinet to be replaced by a woman solely because of their gender. This is sexist of course, but not in Trevor Phillips' eyes.

The CEHR, like it's predecessor the 'Equal' Opportunities Commission, can now be expected to give no support on issues surrounding forms of male discrimination, in fact, Trevor Phillips wants more of it.   

MICHAEL COX FREED ON BAIL : ROUND-UP

Michael Cox, the lawyer who was jailed for 42 days for refusing to pay maintenance when he looked after his children 50% of the time (link), was freed from prison on 6th July on unconditional bail pending a judicial review hearing (link),(link) and (link). 

After Mr Justice Gray granted him bail at Bristol Crown Court, Michael said that it was “a victory for common sense and equality”. 

  Michael (left) believes the case will have to go to the European Courts to turn over the unjust and discriminatory laws that govern the CSA.

The lengths that feminist fundamentalists will go to persecute men was shown up in all its 'glory' by the decision. The CSA have said they will not give up their fight so it looks a 'battle to the death' for the fundamentalists who are not used to being challenged.

There was a superb piece in the Telegraph featuring his children whilst he was in prison (link).

Fathers4Justice launched a Free Michael Cox campaign (link). Also see Michael Cox's excellent GMTV interview and others via YouTube here:- (link) 

PROSATE CANCER CONFERENCE TOMORROW

Tomorrow sees the Medicine and Me Prostate Cancer Conference in London

Monday, 16th July 2007
Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street, London, W1G 0AE

The Prostate Cancer Charity is partnering with the Royal Society of Medicine and the Prostate Cancer Charter for Action in delivering two half day conferences on 16th July 2007 focused on prostate cancer research. For more details see here (link).