Separated Fathers and the ‘Fathers’ Rights' Movement

Abstract

Separated fathers often feel profound grief, distress, and anger at the end of their relationships with their partners and their children. Some participate in 'fathers' rights' groups, a movement which claims to advocate on behalf of men and fathers who are the victims of discrimination and injustice in the Family Court and elsewhere. Yet such groups may do little to help fathers heal or to build or maintain ongoing and positive relationships with their children. Some men do find support in these groups, but they also may be incited into anger, blame, and destructive strategies of litigation.Using a framework of three domains of impact -fathers' responses to and recovery from separation, fathers' relations with children, and fathers' relations with their expartners -this paper proposes that fathers' rights groups are detrimental for fathers themselves. However, other responses to separated fathers are more constructive.

Problematizing Fatherhood: Impact of the Intact Family Ideal on Fathers in Hong Kong

“…Social service providers should be self-reflective about their own values concerning divorce and family (Bailey, 2007;Lau, 2003) and aware of the 592 M. Liong impact of the social stigma associated with divorce on divorced parents' mental health and parenting. They need to view divorced fathers' experiences as normal, acknowledge the willingness of divorced nonresident parents to be close to their children (Bailey & Zvonkovic, 2003), and assist them in tackling transitions and relationship issues, practicing a more involved fatherhood, and coping with stress and emotions (Ashbourne et al, 2013;Flood, 2012). In this article I do not necessarily argue for a causative relationship between the LHC's family discourse and the behavior of the fathers who participated in its discussion groups because the superiority of the intact family is a widely shared belief in Hong Kong society.…”

“…How the notion of family organization influences divorced fathers and their parenting is still lacking in scholarly literature on the family (Flood, 2012). Moreover, although studies in Hong Kong have touched on single parenting and the impact of divorce on children, few studies have investigated the impact of the perception of divorce on divorced fathers or couples in conflictive marriages.…”

“…Through literature review and analysis of the public discourses in newsletters, media commentaries, and websites of some groups working for separated and divorced fathers in Australia, Flood (2012) speculates that these groups' discourses can hinder the emotional healing process of their members and harm the relationship between the divorced fathers and their former spouses, thus contradicting their goals to support divorced fathers. Social workers in family services in Hong Kong were found to encourage clients who were considering divorce to keep their marriages intact (Young, 1995).…”

The negotiations of involved fathers and intensive mothers around shared-bed sleeping with infants (co-sleeping)

“…This then results in the inevitable outcome that mothers become parenting 'experts' due to their increased and more intensive experiences with their children, particularly when they are very young (Gatrell, 2005;Miller, 2014). One examination of the philosophy, process and rhetoric of much of the fathers' rights movements argues that asserting 'equal' rights of fathers seems more about re-asserting a father's authority and less about 'involved' fatherhood in a more positive, nurturing or sharing sense (Flood, 2012).…”