Parental Responsibilities and Rights of Unmarried Fathers: Court Decisions and Implications for Social Workers

Children’s Rights and Oral Health

“…8 These laws were viewed as limiting the children's rights to participate in decisions about their health. 7,9,10 Hence, the current Children's Act 38 of 2005 prescribes the responsibilities and rights of the parents, caregivers and the court of law over the child, and the decisional capacity of the child. The Children's Act provides for guardians to consent for medical intervention for children.…”

“…6,8 However, parental responsibility and rights are not absolute, and can be limited if found to be unreasonable. 10 The question is who has delegation of authority to consent for this child?…”

“…It is possible for the courts to restrict, terminate or suspend parental rights in such cases. 10 The practitioners who previously questioned the legality of the biological father's authority to consent for the child were therefore justified. It is incumbent of health professionals to question relationships of children and guardian, as suspicion can avert cases of child abuse and harm.…”

Young Unmarried Fathers’ Experiences and Perceptions of Fatherhood

“…All unmarried fathers, whether or not they have responsibilities and rights, are legally required to provide maintenance. For more details on the nature and extent of each of these responsibilities and rights see Schäfer (2011), Heaton (2012) and Matthias (2017).…”

“…The consequence of this is that, whilst the fathers are providing physical care and maintaining the children, all the guardianship responsibilities and rights rest with the mother (who is the legal guardian), or with her guardian if she is a minor (section 19(2)). This means that the father will have to obtain the mother's consent on an application for a passport or other legal matter requiring a guardian's signature (see further Matthias, 2017;Matthias & Zaal, 2016).…”