Issued 17th February 2007
Amidst the concerns of escalating gun violence among young teenagers in south London, it has passed as an unchallenged statement of fact that black fathers are abandoning their offspring.

No-one can deny the link between the absence of fathers and youth crime, but can it be assumed that these fathers simply walk away and want nothing to do with their children?

There is little government funded research in this area, but what information we do have suggests a different explanation. Around 2 in 3 divorces are initiated, not by fathers, but by mothers, and the children remain living with their mothers in 93% of these cases. Encouraged by the government, Family Courts have long taken the view that if the mother does not want the child to see the father any more, then that must be what is best for the child. Consequently, following divorce or separation, 60% of fathers have no further meaningful relationship with their children. So, are these fathers walking away, or are they being pushed out with the state’s encouragement?

Certainly there seems no shortage of overweight parents and grandparents, women as well as men it must be said, who are prepared to don ill-fitting lycra superhero outfits and climb on buildings, in desperate pleas to remain involved in the lives of their children and grand-children.

So why would anyone want to exclude perfectly good parents from their children’s up-bringing? For the answer, look no further than the present cabinet. Harriet Harman and Patricia Hewitt are on record as questioning whether fathers are necessary at all [4]. It may well be the case, therefore, that it is a narrow ideology within the Labour leadership, shared by no-one with any common sense, which lies behind this frightening rise in lawlessness.

How long will it be before these youngsters stop shooting each other and turn their guns on those responsible for their broken young lives? Now, there’s a thought which should grab the attention of the government.

ENDS

NOTE TO EDITORS

1. The Equal Parenting Alliance is a new UK political party, formed in February 2006. We aim to promote a system of family justice in the UK that puts the needs and interests of children first.

2. We will be fighting at least two seats in the upcoming Scottish parliamentary elections in May this year, and then several seats in the general election in England & Wales.

3. We think the family justice system should respect the right of children to normal parenting by their two parents above the rights or wishes of either of their parents alone. The current system does not do this. To give the most obvious illustration of this; it allows one parent to easily eliminate the other parent from a child’s life, if they wish. We believe this is fundamentally wrong and bad for children.

4. “It cannot therefore be assumed that men are bound to be an asset to family life, or that the presence of fathers in families is necessarily a means to social harmony and cohesion.”The Family Way: A New Approach to Policy Making (Social Policy Paper), Coote, A, Hewitt, P. and Harman, H., Institute of Public Policy Research, 1990.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

See our website: www.equalparentingalliance.com

Media Contact : Ray Barry, 0790 550 2856