Fathers' Wrongs

Interesting info on divorce and child support in an older issue of the Western Standard. A few points:

--while wives invariably qualify for legal aid to pursue their claims against fathers, fathers almost never do. A poor man cannot afford justice; he is left without legal council. Despite the fact that non-payment of an excessive child-support obligation can result not just in fines, but in imprisonment.

--actual support payments frequently exceed the cost of raising children. They can be a long-term guaranteed income for the separating wife, and so a positive incentive for women to divorce. As one guy ruefully remarked on an email list about his ex-wife: “she opted for all the gifts and prizes that come with divorce.”

--if the father is given partial custody, no consideration is given to his costs. A father who has his kids forty percent of the time has a thirty percent lower standard of living than the mother. From the money he has earned.

--in Australia, the unemployment rate among divorced fathers is six times the national average. This is because they cannot afford to work; they then become liable for prohibitable child support payments. One study concluded that child support payments were the primary cause of unemployment in Australia. Obviously, in these cases, children are suffering too.

--in Australia, while the number of women’s suicides has remained fairly constant since 1976, men’s suicides have almost doubled. And I checked the figures for Canada: the same is true here.

One of the great oppressions in history is happening right now, right here, to ordinary Canadian and Australian men and children.

Meantime, the Canadian government has announced its intention to further toughen child support laws…