thepoliticsoffatherrightsactivists–dopersistentcritics.docVIP

The Politics of Father Rights Activists – Do persistent critics of the Family Court behave in a way which stands up to scrutiny? By M. C. Dunn Presented to National Abuse Free Contact Campaign (NAFCC) 2004 In 1995 when the Australian family law was being amended, Family Court of Australia Chief Justice Nicholson stated “some people and some politicians with limited knowledge of the issues involved, tend to latch on to such dysfunctional persons for apparent political gain. This has the further unfortunate effect of empowering such persons to feel that their behaviour is not only acceptable but is the subject of sympathy and approval by politicians and government. It is all too often the experience of this court that its most persistent critics have behaved in a way which cannot stand up to public scrutiny, particularly in relation to issues of violence against women and children”. Justice Nicholson has consistently recognised that many of the Court’s harshest critics were “discontented litigants, sometimes obviously dysfunctional”. Further, he recognised that these same people and the groups to which they belong, were being granted access to corridors of powers that resulted in legislation and policy reforms that did not arrest the violence against women and children (that was being heard in some family court proceedings). Justice Nicholson continued “Such persons, who often espouse the rights of fathers, do very little for their cause. There are legitimate matters that can be advanced on their behalf and it is equally as important that the court and those within it do not adopt stereotyped attitudes towards men as well as women.” (Nicholson 1995, p1) In the context of Justice Nicholson’s comments above, this paper scrutinises the behaviour and language of the two major father’s rights activists organisations, the Shared Parenting Council of Australia (SPCA), and the Fatherhood Foundation (FF), particularly in relation to issues of violence against women and