Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Father’s rights activists and public policy
Other Titles:	Women against violence : an Australian feminist journal
Authors:	Wilson, Trish
Keywords:	Family law;Parenting
Year:	2005
Publisher:	CASA House (Centre Against Sexual Assault)
Citation:	(16), 2004-2005
Notes:	This article discusses the recent developments that fathers’ rights activists made after the publication of the Final Report of the Australian House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family and Community Affairs Inquiry into child custody arrangements, which did not provide the results that they had anticipated. It aims to address misrepresentations about family law and social science research that fathers’ rights activists had submitted to the Committee. It looks at how fathers’ rights groups used child-centred or family-centred language to hide their agenda, and to promote presumptive joint physical custody of children upon family separation. It challenges the underlying assumption of their rhetoric that anyone who opposes ‘shared parenting’ also means they do not want fathers to be involved in their children’s lives. It argues that joint physical custody of children forces women to remain in abusive marriages as it will enable men to control their wives, and as a way to lower their child support obligations. It also describes the activities of both Australian- and US-based fathers’ rights groups, including defamatory pamphlets, a child abduction case, hatred and disregard for women on their message boards and email lists.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/14797
ISSN:	1327-5550
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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