Fathers & INEquality

Examples of Inequalities:

Examples of inequalities in 2004 none of which The Equality Authority care to or allowed to address:-

• If a father and mother both share the care and custody of their children on an equal basis, where there is no cross alleviation of parental responsibility, should a mother have to pay maintenance to the father, or vice-versa?

• If a separated mother and father share the custody of their children on an equally shared basis of alternating weeks, children’s allowance is only paid to the mother. If a widower remarries, the non-biological Step-mother takes precedence over the children’s natural father. Is this EQUALITY ? Is the children’s allowance actually for the child or is it a personal payment to mothers?

• If an unmarried couple have consensual intercourse which results in a birth why should the father automatically be considered feckless and irresponsible while the mother is considered an innocent but caring victim? Society should treat the couple either as Equally irresponsible or Equally responsible. Hence Unmarried fathers should be given the same rights of guardianship as unmarried mothers. 20,000 children are born each year out of marriage with no protection of their relationship with their father.

• If a man adopts some other mans child he is entitled to paid adoptive leave similar to maternity leave (and only after a long struggle by one brave adoptive father). However If a man fathers his own child he gets no paid leave. Thus a man would be better of adopting a child than fathering his own. What signal does this send out to natural fathers?

• Innocent paternal grandparents, lose their innocent grandchildren when their son separates. Joint custody is a solution which protects the childs right to know, love and be cared for by both sides of the childs family.

• Domestic Violence against women is rightly supported by millions of euro of taxpayer’s monies. However, In spite of the research evidence that women are equally likely to be violent, the state funding for male victims of domestic abuse is less than 1% of the grant aid for women victims (ref www.amen.ie).