By Joel Leyden
Israel News Agency

Boston-----June 16...... Fathers-4-Justice, the highly respected and visible child custody civil rights movement which advocates equal access, creating a mass public outcry which started in London and has swept across Europe, Australia, Canada, South Africa and Israel is now here in the US.

Concord, NH and Boston, MA are just two of several cities across the United States that will be hosting Fathers4Justice demonstrations tomorrow, June 17. 2005.

The Boston, MA fathers and children's rights rally will be held from 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m beginning at City Hall Plaza. The Concord, NH rally is to be held at the NH State House from 3:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

Members of Fathers-4-Justice US and hundreds of children's rights supporters, from child psychologists to family court attorneys, will gather in Concord, NH and Boston, MA to raise public awareness of the suffering of divorced dads and their children within inequitable state family court systems. The cities are two of several in the nation hosting demonstrations on "Fatherless Day."

The fathers rights event will be conducted in the flamboyant, non-violent style of F4J demonstrations that have been so successful in raising public awareness.

Robert Chase heads Fathers-4-Justice in New England and was featured in a recent New York Times Magazine article on shared parenting and fatherhood activism.

"“Fathers4Justice USA’s mission is to raise public awareness of how the ‘winner-take-all’ custody system is failing the children, the fathers, and the families of America," says Chase. "The traditional practice of pitting parent vs. parent in a custody battle creates a destructive dynamic that has a deeply negative effect on our children and our society. It’s time for change. There is a better way. We hope that anyone who has been touched by this issue, and anyone who believes that children should have two parents in their lives will join us in advocating for shared parenting. What better place to start than Massachusetts and New Hampshire?”

The fathers rights events will draw attention to the plight of children and parents who are unnecessarily removed from each other due to gender bias discrimination and the painful child custody processes that are currently in place in family courts.

Fathers4Justice in England, a well respected civil rights group speaking out for father's and children's rights through the use of highly visible public events, is achieving much success through its public awareness campaign. Strengthened powers for family courts in the UK to enforce child contact orders will stop short of electronically tagging or imposing curfews on parents who deny their former partners agreed access to a child after divorce or separation. However, while some of the toughest sanctions originally floated by UK ministers in January have been quietly dropped, a bill published yesterday will give courts other new powers to enforce orders, including compelling parents to undertake community service while their former partner sees the child.

Under the child contact and inter-country adoption bill, published by the children's minister, Beverley Hughes, courts - which can currently only fine or jail parents in breach of orders - will also be able to order parents to pay financial compensation to their former partner to cover any losses incurred because they unreasonably withhold access. They will also be able to instruct parents to take part in activities that "promote contact" such as meeting a counsellor or attending information or guidance sessions about contact arrangements. However, though courts will have powers to send parents to information sessions about mediation, they will not be able to compel them to attend mediation itself as happens in parts of the US - to the frustration of some fathers' groups.

The issue of equal parental access to children after separation has been increasingly highlighted by campaigners, most prominently by the fathers' civil rights group Fathers4Justice. The group wants family courts to have a presumption of equal access rights for both parents. Pre-legislative scrutiny of initial proposals by a committee of MPs argued that proposals to electronically tag mothers refusing to grant access went too far.

Last week in an Israel family court, a judge ordered a well respected Israel journalist to take psychological tests for writing new stories critizing the Israel Knesset Custodian law of 1962 and Israel's gender biased court and welfare systems. The journalist, who serves as an advisor to Israel's Foreign Ministry and the Israel Defense Forces, was told that if he did not take the tests, then he would have to accept his present two afternoon visits per week with his young son. The veteran journalist questioned why he was able to have unsupervised visits for two days per week but if he wanted more time with his child would need to take psychological tests. His attorney stated that this was a direct infringement on freedom of speech and the journalist's means of employment.

The American Psychological Association, the world's largest psychological organization, advocates joint custody for lowering conflict between divorced parents, reducing Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) and states that children need to see their fathers at least three times per week for the child to develop in a healthy mental and emotional manner.

Children from fatherless homes account for: the majority of youth suicides, teenage pregnancies, homeless and runaway children, juveniles in detention, children with behavioral disorders, high school dropouts and adolescents who abuse drugs. They are the same statistics that have been rolled out for years by those trying to change a court system that gives a great deal of power to the custodial parent (usually the mother), and a welfare system that initially demanded fathers be absent before benefits would be paid. Add to those barriers built-up frustration on the part of the non-custodial father and you have a recipe for father absenteeism.

The importance of a father's relationship with his children has been minimized, and the people who suffer the most are the innocent children.

Press Contact: Rachel Forrest
Fathers-4-Justice
Email: media.relations@nh.f4j.us
rachelforrest1@aol.com
Phone: 603 -315-3276
Website: www.f4j.us

ISRAEL NEWS AGENCY