Dads After Divorce was founded in 1989 by four men, each of whom had been the victim of engineered divorce petitions alleging their unreasonable behaviour. Their individual reaction in finding themselves rendered legally defenceless was that there appeared to be something wrong with a legal and judicial system that assumed one to be guilty rather than innocent. The collective response of the four was the same, something had to be done about this travesty, the result was to set up a movement that would address this matter.
Local publicity at launch went national and the phone lines have not been quiet since. The volume of those responding who were afflicted by the closed door divorce court system proved that this was much more than just a local matter. In fact it affects somewhere in the region of 80,000 men per year, year on year, from the whole country. Advice was sought from us on 'what to do' as victims found themselves relieved of their homes and money and legally excluded from their children. Our response was to file an answer to allegations of their unreasonable behaviour, in other words to defend. This would mean that the victim would also have to become a litigant in person since they would be denied legal aid for professional representation. The denial of legal aid exposed exactly how a victim is entrapped in the system and how unless they make strenuous efforts they will be unable to prevent this form of divorce on demand.
We have been able to assist a large number of victims since our foundation and have encouraged them to not sit back and have their lives destroyed, because the establishment, in not supporting legal marriage, will give preference to the partner who deliberately breaks up a marriage knowing they can make financial gain from the process.
With the foundation of the CG we became aware of that group's understanding of the underlying reasons for the breakdown in our society. We perceived that there was a closeness in our objectives and understanding of the problems and this led to discussions between the leaders of both movements. The discussions ultimately led to the decision that DADS would amalgamate with the UKMM, and CG as an associate would act as necessary as the family policy wing. That has now taken place and we have a larger movement as a result. Those involved in DADS now contribute to the UKMM as advisors and are able to carry on their work albeit under a different movement name.