Fri 20 August, 2004 03:39
Angry dads a new political force
LONDON (Reuters) - Andrei Peterson says his life collapsed in 2001 when his
wife abducted his daughters.
His adopted daughter was 16, doing well at school and enjoying life in
London. His 2-year-old biological daughter was a happy, lively toddler who loved
being with her daddy.
But when his wife suddenly left him and took them away, breaking all contact
and disappearing without trace, Peterson was horrified to find no one wanted to
help him get them back.
" ... neither the police, or the government, or solicitors, or the
courts, were at all interested in helping me find them," he told Reuters.
"If a child was abducted by somebody else -- like a stranger or their
father -- the whole country would come to a standstill.
"But even though there are laws in this country ... requiring the return
of children to their habitual residence, these laws were completely ignored --
even by the High Court."
Peterson, an American citizen living in Britain, says he was so angered by
his powerlessness in the face of losing his children that he vowed to fight for
a change in the law.
He joined a group of other fathers fighting for rights to see their children
after divorce or separation. The group was called Fathers 4 Justice.
Fathers 4 Justice has fast grown into powerful political force in the barely
two years since it was founded.
It has at least 10,000 members and that number rises every day. It has
affiliated groups in the Netherlands, Australia and Canada and plans to start up
in the United States in October.
"The shocking thing is that (injustice for fathers) isn't just a
phenomenon in English-speaking countries, it is a phenomenon across the first
world in post-industrial societies," the group's founder, Matt O'Connor,
told Reuters.
"The roles of the genders are blurring and changing. So we must at the
least just get to the point where both parents are treated equally in the eyes
of the law."
Fathers are angered by a court system which seems them to disproportionately
favour mothers and laws which allow that to happen.
In 80 percent of cases, children end up with their mother after a divorce.
Proceedings in family courts are secret to protect the identity of the children,
but this also prevents the public and media from knowing what is going on.
Fathers 4 Justice's demands are straightforward: The law must be changed to
include a presumption of equality between parents; the role of the father in
children's lives must be recognised and valued; and family courts must penalise
parents who flout court orders allowing visiting rights.
POWDER-BOMB ATTACK
Their protests are high profile.
Last year, one Fathers 4 Justice member dressed up as Spiderman -- his
daughter's favourite superhero -- and barricaded himself in a crane over
London's Tower Bridge, gridlocking traffic for miles around. Protestors dressed
as vicars, nuns and monks stormed a Sunday service in York Minster cathedral.
The most headline-grabbing incident was on May 19 when protestors pelted
Prime Minister Tony Blair with flour filled condoms as he was speaking in
parliament. It caused a huge security alert, closed the debating chamber and
prompted immediate changes to access rules for the House of Commons.
As a result, the country and its politicians are starting to listen.
"We are now on the political agenda, so we have achieved one of our key
objectives," O'Connor said.
He cited efforts by the Conservative Party to try to address the concerns of
fathers.
Conservative leader Michael Howard gave a speech this month in which he
praised the role of men in children's lives and insisted fatherhood should be
restored to its traditional role at the heart of the family. He also promised
that his party would change the law to create a strong presumption in favour of
both parents having equal roles in rearing their children.
The response of the Labour Party has been disappointing, according to
O'Connor and his group, and they are promising to make the prime minister suffer
as a result.
"The focus of our campaign is now shifting dramatically. For the first
time we are now focused totally and utterly against the Labour party,"
O'Connor said.
Blair is likely to call a general election in 2005 and is comfortably ahead
of his Conservative rivals in the polls.
But the fathers have high political ambitions to force a swing away from
Labour if it refuses to heed their protest.
"If Labour does not wake up very quickly and introduce ... the
legislation we demand," said O'Connor. "Then I personally, along with
10,000 committed activists, will rise as one and fight against the Labour
government -- and Labour will not win the next election."
Fri 20 August, 2004 03:37
By Kate Kelland
LONDON (Reuters) - Andrei Peterson says his life collapsed in 2001 when his wife abducted his daughters.
His adopted daughter was 16, doing well at school and enjoying life in London. His 2-year-old biological daughter was a happy, lively toddler who loved being with her daddy.
But when his wife suddenly left him and took them away, breaking all contact and disappearing without trace, Peterson was horrified to find no one wanted to help him get them back.
" ... neither the police, or the government, or solicitors, or the courts, were at all interested in helping me find them," he told Reuters.
"If a child was abducted by somebody else -- like a stranger or their father -- the whole country would come to a standstill.
"But even though there are laws in this country ... requiring the return of children to their habitual residence, these laws were completely ignored -- even by the High Court."
Peterson, an American citizen living in Britain, says he was so angered by his powerlessness in the face of losing his children that he vowed to fight for a change in the law.
He joined a group of other fathers fighting for rights to see their children after divorce or separation. The group was called Fathers 4 Justice.
Fathers 4 Justice has fast grown into powerful political force in the barely two years since it was founded.
It has at least 10,000 members and that number rises every day. It has affiliated groups in the Netherlands, Australia and Canada and plans to start up in the United States in October.
"The shocking thing is that (injustice for fathers) isn't just a phenomenon in English-speaking countries, it is a phenomenon across the first world in post-industrial societies," the group's founder, Matt O'Connor, told Reuters.
"The roles of the genders are blurring and changing. So we must at the least just get to the point where both parents are treated equally in the eyes of the law."
Fathers are angered by a court system which seems them to disproportionately favour mothers and laws which allow that to happen.
In 80 percent of cases, children end up with their mother after a divorce. Proceedings in family courts are secret to protect the identity of the children, but this also prevents the public and media from knowing what is going on.
Fathers 4 Justice's demands are straightforward: The law must be changed to include a presumption of equality between parents; the role of the father in children's lives must be recognised and valued; and family courts must penalise parents who flout court orders allowing visiting rights.
POWDER-BOMB ATTACK
Their protests are high profile.
Last year, one Fathers 4 Justice member dressed up as Spiderman -- his daughter's favourite superhero -- and barricaded himself in a crane over London's Tower Bridge, gridlocking traffic for miles around. Protestors dressed as vicars, nuns and monks stormed a Sunday service in York Minster cathedral.
The most headline-grabbing incident was on May 19 when protestors pelted Prime Minister Tony Blair with flour filled condoms as he was speaking in parliament. It caused a huge security alert, closed the debating chamber and prompted immediate changes to access rules for the House of Commons.
As a result, the country and its politicians are starting to listen.
"We are now on the political agenda, so we have achieved one of our key objectives," O'Connor said.
He cited efforts by the Conservative Party to try to address the concerns of fathers.
Conservative leader Michael Howard gave a speech this month in which he praised the role of men in children's lives and insisted fatherhood should be restored to its traditional role at the heart of the family. He also promised that his party would change the law to create a strong presumption in favour of both parents having equal roles in rearing their children.
The response of the Labour Party has been disappointing, according to O'Connor and his group, and they are promising to make the prime minister suffer as a result.
"The focus of our campaign is now shifting dramatically. For the first time we are now focused totally and utterly against the Labour party," O'Connor said.
Blair is likely to call a general election in 2005 and is comfortably ahead of his Conservative rivals in the polls.
But the fathers have high political ambitions to force a swing away from Labour if it refuses to heed their protest.
"If Labour does not wake up very quickly and introduce ... the legislation we demand," said O'Connor. "Then I personally, along with 10,000 committed activists, will rise as one and fight against the Labour government -- and Labour will not win the next election."