A week or so ago, the site raised the issue that the sudden interest in the figure highlighting that 40% of victims of domestic abuse were male was a surprise because it had been a fact for sometime.
The same could be said this week about the Lord Justice Nicholas Wall, President of the Family Division, who at last weekend's Families Need Fathers conferenne said in his very powerful and lucid speech that in family court proceedings:
"Far more often, the parties are fighting over again the battles of the relationship, and the children are both the battlefield and the ammunitiom. Often the mother, who finds herself caring for the children, is able to use her power over them to deny the father contact." (para 15).
He also went onto to say that "the more intelligent the parent, the more intractable the dispute." (para 33). Maybe it is the upper middle class women being fed the nonsense in this book the new middle class feminist bible all over the papers...
The speech also shed much light on the role of the courts, the lack of judicial continuity, shared parenting, human behaviour, the infamous payne vs payne case and the other problem that forces so many men back into court - the pathetic lack of enforcement of contact orders.
He said that the courts were not anti-men but I suppose he couldn't say otherwise, even though, CAFCASS clearly are (indociriated by the anti-male ideology) and many of the judges are. Why do Batman & Robin feel they have to get on the roof of Buckingham Place?
After the Times covered the story, the coverage continued throughout the week and some of it enlightening about the attitudes of women.
In Harriet Sergeant's Daily Mail article about her divorce a female friend of hers said: 'Why aren't you using the children against him?' and then said 'I would'. Comments on the article are worth reading.
However, the issue is that this subject has been around for over 30 years and more, its why Families Needs Fathers was set up. The secrecy of the family courts has meant that some were forced to set groups like Fathers4Justice, Real Fathers4Justice and the like. Men have been driven to suicide and bankruptcy while others because of obstructive mothers and the supine courts that side with them have lost touch with their children (Mark Harris' seminal book is always worth sending to unbelievers).
Just like the issue on domestic violence, for some reason the issue is triggered when it has been fact for decades and fair play for Justice Wall for being lucid and speaking in such terms. The challenge is to keep the momentum going because with the Family Justice Review being undertaken and the Coalition's Government's pledge for shared parenting ther eis much to play for. A shared parenting bill has already been laid by some MP's.
Maybe, just maybe, this can move forward...
Posted by Skimmington
Media articles - Daily Mail (plus debate), Telegraph, Spectator (Melanie Phillips) and BBC
The considerable efforts of the groups involved in protesting are having an effect at last. But you are quite right to ask why the facts - so clearly shown along with their longevity - have been ignored for so long at such human cost.
I am particularly inpressed by the continuing calm and reasonable conviction displayed by Skimmingtom and Kimble. As commentators / journalists they make fine 'spokesmen' for the MRM, downplaying any urge to rant and curse.
More power to your keyboards gentlemen.
Posted by: amfortas | Friday, 24 September 2010 at 03:33