Do Families
Matter ?
A Response to the Report Family Matters [1] from The Lords and Commons Family and Child Protection Group, 15 July 1998 The Cheltenham Group, 28 September 1998 |
Contents
Summary | |
0. |
Introduction |
1. |
Matrimonial and Family Law |
2. |
Social and financial policies in support of families |
3. |
Conclusions |
References | |
Annex : quotations from Marriage and Fatherhood [3] |
Summary Critique of Family Matters The Cheltenham Group welcomes the report Family Matters with its recognition of a number of issues adversely affecting the family. We wish to add to the debate some further issues not covered by the report which we believe are destructive to marriage, in that they act both as encouragement to separation and divorce, and act as discouragement to commitment within a marriage. The issues of concern are identified under two areas :
Conclusions These two areas therefore do not currently support the family, and particularly mens position within the family. They provide support primarily for the unit consisting of a woman and her children, and her current partner. The law and social policies require radical change, to once more recognise, and to provide incentives for the normal two-parent family, involving the re-introduction of mens and fathers rights within the family, to meet the childrens objective needs, to provide justice, and above all else, to reinstate social stability in this area. |
0. Introduction
The Cheltenham Group welcomes the report Family Matters with its recognition of a number of issues adversely affecting the family. The report is a breath of fresh air amongst so much misguided debate which has taken place over the last 30 years.
Family Matters addresses for the first time a number of the fundamental problems with regard to the family. In particular we welcome the recognition by the report of some specific issues relevant to the family, of which we are already familiar :
the role of Court Welfare Officers and their formal policies expressed in the NAPO Anti-sexism Policy [5] which is not compatible with written law with respect to the childrens objectively defined needs, or with respect to equality of treatment for the parents, for the reasons given in one of our reports The NAPO Anti-sexism Policy & Lack of Available Remedies [4];
the deep concerns of fathers who are excluded from their childrens lives, yet are required to provide monies under the Child Support Act/Agency, often at an unreasonable level;
and most particularly :
the creation of a matrilineal society due to mens role in separated families being severely limited, and this now compounded with an employment market in which many mens previous job roles are in decline.
We wish to draw attention to the current situation, and particularly how this affects men. The use of the mans perspective is fully justified, as it is on men that the burdens we identify primarily fall. We give below further explanation, and references for further reading.
There are major influencing issues which are omitted from the report. We refer to two areas :
matrimonial and family law;
social and financial policy in support of the family.
This response Do Families Matter ? is intended to bring attention to these two broad areas. This document provides only an outline of the issues, and references are given to further reading, especially Cheltenham Group publications.
Society must ask the question do families matter ?, as all recent governments, while purporting to address family issues, simply have not done so. The present Labour government is no exception. All recent legislation, and we may mention the Child Support Act 1991 and Family Law Act 1996, neither of which support families, were passed with all-party support.
1. Matrimonial and Family Law
The scope of this section
We can only provide an outline of this area, and to make reference to other Cheltenham Group publications for further details. We provide below a synopsis of :
the significance of this issue;
how this situation came about;
the effects of current matrimonial and family law;
a review of the social effects of these issues.
The significance of this issue
The importance of this area cannot be overestimated. It is the knowledge of the likely outcome of divorce, determined by courts of law, which to a large extent drives the process. The outcomes we refer to are control of children and asset allocation, and ongoing maintenance for children - all of which are allocated in the womans favour, whatever her past behaviour.
We explain below that :
marriage has been destroyed as a legal institution;
the interpretation of matrimonial and family law is comprehensively and seriously compromised;
the principles applied in the dissolution of a marriage are degenerate;
the principles have been introduced without any consultation or even knowledge of the public;
the legal system involved in matrimonial and family law is not effectively controlled by responsible authority;
the only unit supported by the legal system is a woman and her children, and whichever partner she cares to live with from time to time.
The last major reform of matrimonial law was in 1969. Case law decisions in 1973 based on this law in fact overturned Parliaments intentions, and this was compounded with the introduction of the special procedure in 1976. Since this time the divorce rate has increased four-fold. There are now approximately 180,000 divorces per year in the UK, and of these about 100,000 men and 120,000 children have their lives seriously damaged in a process they did not cause and were helpless to prevent.
Due to the changes which we outline, most divorces are now brought using trivial and fabricated reasons. It is no surprise that more than 70% of divorces are now brought by the woman, and that marriage rates have declined.
How this situation came about
This history is explained in full in other Cheltenham Group publications, notably The Emperors New Clothes : Divorce Process and Consequence [2], Marriage and Fatherhood : Important Information for Young Men [3], and The NAPO Anti-sexism Policy & Lack of Available Remedies [4].
The principal causes are :
corruption of the written law, and the principles which Parliament intended should apply, by the senior judges in case law decisions, over children (Allen case in 1948) and over assets (Wachtel case in 1973) [2, 3];
the introduction of the special procedure in 1976 to facilitate uncontested divorces, since then normal practice : this, combined with the accommodation of this by solicitors and barristers, completed the introduction of no-fault divorce, in which the parties conduct was largely irrelevant to the outcome, and this was introduced by back-door methods i.e. without the public being consulted or even informed [2, 3];
legal aid provided to women but withheld from men to defend a divorce petition;
this situation is exacerbated by professional malpractices of solicitors, barristers, and court welfare officers, and particularly by female radical feminists who use the situation to further their political objectives against men [2];
the introduction of the NAPO Anti-sexism Policy, applicable to court welfare officers, which is intended to provide support for women while avoiding the rights of men and their children [4];
the lack of control by responsible authority over these issues [2, 4].
The most significant aspect of the law which has changed is that concerned with the basis for divorce and the allocation of assets. The provisions concerning the parties behaviour and the relevance of this to the outcome of divorce are defined in the Matrimonial Causes Act and the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act. The corruption of Parliaments intentions were introduced by case law in 1973 over assets, and this date coincides with the dramatically increased rate of divorce. Previous case law decisions about children, from 1948, had already ensured that women had priority over children.
The basis for divorce, until 1969, that is on the grounds of desertion, cruelty and adultery, were replaced by irretrievable breakdown as evidenced by five factors. One of the five factors was unreasonable behaviour, and it was for a court to decide what was unreasonable. The senior judges overturned this principle in 1973, by allowing the term unreasonable to apply to whatever the person making the allegation thought was unreasonable, that is to provide a subjective test as to what was unreasonable. Since then trivial and fabricated grounds have become common, and the unreasonable behaviour petition accounts for most divorces. Solicitors and barristers have accommodated this practice by ensuring that few divorces are contested.
More recent changes to matrimonial and family law have included the Child Support Act 1991, which for the first time ever caused mass public demonstrations due to the unjust treatment of fathers, and the Family Law Act 1996, which incorporates the no-fault principle, already introduced by stealth and without public knowledge, into the written law for the first time ever. The architects of this include Brenda Hoggett, former Law Commissioner, now a judge in the Court of Appeal who has expressed clear feminist and anti-male views which we describe in Marriage and Fatherhood : Important Information for Young Men [3]. During the passage of LFA96, a MORI poll indicated that 64% of the public did not support no-fault divorce.
There have been attempts by feminists (see section 3.5 of [3]), to obtain the same outcomes of separation for cohabiting couples as for married couples.
The effects of current matrimonial and family law
The effect of this corruption of the laws has been to marginalise men and fathers within the family. The extent to which this has already been achieved is unknown to most of the public. The response of individuals, when presented with the facts, is often one of disbelief, except for those who have been subjected to these laws.
The public however are increasingly aware of the rate of divorce, but are unaware of the practices and likely outcomes in detail. It was for this reason that the Cheltenham Group have described the situation in Marriage and Fatherhood : Important Information for Young Men [3], and we can do no better than to quote sections from this work. We do this in the Annex to this report. It should be noted that much of the information we present has never been collected by any Government department. The derivation of the statistics may be obtained from the Cheltenham Group on request.
A review of the social effects of these issues
While most young men do not have access to the information collected by the Cheltenham Group, there is nevertheless some appreciation by the public that men have few rights in marriage. The increase in cohabitation, and falling marriage rate are linked to this knowledge.
A matrilineal society is being produced, with about one third of children raised by single mothers [7].
A young man now contemplating marriage :
cannot rely on the law to protect his investment in his children, home, life savings or future income, if fact these investments are seriously threatened by marriage;
cannot know what laws will apply during his marriage, as they may be changed from time to time by the senior judges without Parliamentary or public approval;
cannot obtain remedy to the problems we outline here.
Further such young men live in a society in which an increasing proportion of employment opportunities are outside of the roles suited to males.
2. Social and financial policy in support of families
Definition of family
It is worth defining the term family. The Cheltenham Group are concerned solely with the usual two-parent family, i.e. a father and a mother who raise their own children. We refer to this as a normal family. We do not recognise any other grouping as requiring the level of protection which should be afforded to the normal family.
Some background
The single-parent unit has expanded due to both the illegitimate birth rate, which has grown from 3.2% to 34% of live births in 30 years, and the divorce rate having increased four fold in the same period. However, many single-parent units are of divorced women, the majority of whom have abandoned a husband using trivial and fabricated grounds.
We know from statistics that the cost to the nation of single-parent units is approximately £15 billion per annum. If polled the taxpayer would not support this arrangement to which they each have to contribute an estimated £422 per year. Even if they do not agree with the lifestyle, the subsidised payment for the single-parent unit is enforced through the taxation system. The nation is burdened financially and socially with the single parent unit, and those who have acted responsibly are the very people asked to support the irresponsible.
What has led to this situation in the last 30 years is the abandoning of the previous rules of society, particularly of responsible behaviour and loyalty towards others. Further and equally importantly, social policy has been devised without reference to men and fathers and without input from their organisations.
Central and local government grants, funding and community aid is made available to all types of organisations - primarily womens, and rarely mens or fathers. Organisation and funding of mens groups is minimal, and this must surely change. Assistance and protection sought from the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) to protect mens and fathers interests is rejected. Since its inception some 25 years ago the EOC has only become involved in 7 mens related cases.
Social policy, in recognising mothers and women as primary carers, excluded those men who are also primary carers. Lone fathers get a far rougher deal than lone mothers with fewer services and amenities notified or made available to them. This indirect discrimination pervades the benefits system and continues into pension provision and minimum NI contributions and multifarious state entitlements. Direct discrimination leaves families with a father poorer for all levels of income [8] than fatherless lone parent families.
The present thrust of law which underpins those principles is to reward bad behaviour in women, and to hold men responsible whatever the events which led up to separation and divorce. At the same time social and financial policy supports such women. The terminology used hides the reality. Examples include :
the marriage broke up - a semantically meaningless phrase which covers the reality that almost all marriages are destroyed on the wishes of one spouse, usually the woman;
absent parent is synonymous with a never-married or deserting father when the reality is that most non-resident fathers have been excluded from the childrens lives by the actions of the mother assisted by a court.
The one common denominator in all this sea of trouble and incompetence is the omission, or rather the deliberate exclusion, from debate and policy formulation of fathers representatives and mens groups.
Aspects of concern
In the present situation, we have two aspects of concern :
the legal system and social policies reward irresponsibility;
the average taxpayer contributes about £422 p.a. towards maintenance of single-parent families - about half of whom have deliberately placed themselves in that position.
The Cheltenham Group have concern for two major principles :
that responsible behaviour within the family should be rewarded, and that irresponsible behaviour should not be rewarded as it is at present;
that self supporting families, who are net taxpayers, should not be burdened financially with support for other units.
The Home Secretarys speech at the launch of Family Matters
We shall not critique this in depth, but simply point out that none of the fundamental principles which we identify here have been addressed, and mention two examples of lack of integrity.
Mr Straw says "It is not for governments to lay down how adults conduct their personal relationships" and "We are not in the business of telling law-abiding adults how to lead their lives", but all recent legislation and his proposals do and will interfere.
Mr Straw says, of some fathers who have complained about the CSA, that they "no longer want to meet their responsibilities" when in fact these fathers are the innocent victims of a vastly unjust system, and when they are forced to send monies to someone who has become a stranger, if not an enemy, and who has gained by the process and is better off than a normal family, at the expense of the men who Mr Straw claims dont want responsibility.
We regard this latter comment from Mr Straw is one example of the confused if not deliberately misinforming statements made by government which obscure the reality of the present situation.
3. Conclusions
Significance of the Issues.
It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the issues that surround family life and the way in which 50% of the population have effectively been silenced. Family Matters, rightly in our view, highlights the failures which society will experience if the present situation continues, that is of social engineering experiments of father exclusion. However, we would go further and state that Family Matters has been too timorous as to the consequences. Society is likely to endure but too polite in pointing out the longevity of the damage caused to children. That damage will, we believe, be visited upon the next generation over and over again. Additionally, and often overlooked, is the cost of this situation to tax-payers.
Remedies
The legal system of matrimonial and family law requires radical root-and-branch reform, and social and financial policies should support the normal family. Paramount within this should be mens position and rights.
References
Family Matters, edited by Dr Clifford Hill & Rodney Curtis, Lords and Commons Family and Child Protection Group, The Centre for Contemporary Ministry, The Park, Moggerhanger, Bedford, MK44 3RW, 15 July 1998
The Emperors New Clothes : Divorce Process and Consequence, 2nd Edition, The Cheltenham Group, February 1998, ISBN 1 900080 03 6.
Marriage and Fatherhood : Important Information for Young Men, 2nd Edition, The Cheltenham Group, 1998, ISBN 1 900080 05 2.
The NAPO Anti-sexism Policy & Lack of Available Remedies, The Cheltenham Group, 11 June 1998.
Equal Rights / Anti-sexism, National Association of Probation Officers (NAPO), 4 Chivalry Road, London, SW11 1HT, September 1996.
Letter, from Gaenor Kyffin of NAPO Administration, 4 Chivalry Road, London SW11 1HT, 23 April 1997.
Divorce Law Practice : The Invisible Engine of a Matrilineal Society, Dr John Campion, The Cheltenham Group, 31 January 1998.
Farewell to the Family ?, Patricia Morgan, Institute of Economic Affairs, January 1995, ISBN 0 255 363 56 7.
Annex : quotations from Marriage and Fatherhood
Quote 1 : some statistics to illustrate the effects
We give here a selection of statistics. The probabilities are out of 1, e.g. 0.53 means that this applies to 53% of the relevant population. The occurrences are those estimated from the probabilities, based on the assumption, and no better information exists at this time, that these probabilities apply to the whole population. The populations are those of all currently married men, and those divorced in one year.
Outcomes: occurring to a married man during marriage Population : all currently married men |
P (outcome) |
Occurrences to currently married men |
be divorced | 0.53 |
7,355,900 |
be divorced by his wife using fabricated grounds | 0.24 |
3,338,800 |
lose custody of his child(ren) | 0.24 |
3,417,800 |
lose custody, and never see child(ren) again | 0.08 |
1,069,600 |
lose his home | 0.39 |
5,516,900 |
lose a significant part of his life savings | 0.49 |
6,923,200 |
Outcomes: occurring to a married man during divorce Population : men divorced in 1 year |
P (outcome) |
Occurrences to married men per year |
have no effective defence to a wifes petition | 0.61 |
110,000 |
not receive legal aid | 0.64 |
115,000 |
have false allegations made against him | 0.58 |
105,000 |
be the victim of malpractices in his legal case | 0.87 |
156,000 |
Outcomes: occurring to a married man after divorce Population : men divorced in 1 year |
P (outcome) |
Occurrences to divorced men per year |
suffer obstruction to contact with his children | 0.61 |
109,800 |
suffers stress | 0.83 |
149,300 |
will not remarry | 0.77 |
138,300 |
have attitudes to women in general | 0.63 |
113,900 |
have attitudes to the law | 0.90 |
162,800 |
Item : of assets and legal costs at marriage and divorce Value : given in £s |
Average per case |
Total per year |
transferred to women at marriage | 9,913 |
1,748,250,000 |
transferred to women at divorce | 18,804 |
3,384,720,000 |
paid to lawyers at divorce (men only data) | 29,306 |
5,275,080,000 |
Item : of maintenance after divorce Value : given in £s |
Average per case per year |
Total per case (made over 10 years) |
%age of cases to which this applies |
Total for cases in 1 year (made over 10 years) |
maintenance for children | 3,216 |
32,160 |
47.6 |
2,752,053,300 |
maintenance for (ex-) wives |
5,292 |
52,920 |
13.4 |
1,276,430,400 |
Quote 2 : some simple comparisons to illustrate the effects
It is possible to estimate the probability that a married parent will raise his or her own children, in a normal family setting, to adulthood. We have 47% of parents who raise their children within the usual two-parent family. For the other 53% who divorce, we know from the survey statistics that about 86% of mothers and only 9% of fathers will continue to have custody of all children. Taking 86% and 9% of the 53% who divorce, we obtain data about those divorced couples, that 46% of women and 5% of men retain custody. Adding these figures to 47% we obtain the figures that 93% of mothers and 52% of fathers will be primary carers responsible for raising their own children to adulthood. The probability that a married mother will remain a primary carer of her own children is therefore 0.93, but for a father the figure is 0.52.
Expressed in simple lay terms, if a man takes the step of marrying and has children there is :
a 50% chance that it will result in him losing his children,
a 25% chance of losing his home,
a 50% chance it will cost him about £82,320 (comprised of £53,014 to his ex-wife and £29,306 to lawyers),
and nearly a 50% chance he will not receive a full pension on retirement.
If a woman takes the step of marrying and has children there is :
almost a certainty she will keep her children,
a 25% chance of losing her home,
a 50% chance she will benefit by about £33,014 (comprised of £53,014 from her ex-husband but of which about £20,000 goes to lawyers)
and nearly a 50% chance she will benefit on her ex-husbands retirement from his pension.
If a wife tires of a husband, she may :
rid herself of him,
but will usually keep most of the benefits of the marriage i.e. with :
major control of the children;
often the home if she wants it;
most of the life savings;
an enhanced pension;
and ongoing unearned money for the next 10-20 years.
However if a husband tires of his wife, he may :
rid himself of her, but will usually keep none of the benefits and will have a difficult ongoing life i.e. with :
minimal control of the children and can readily be excluded from their lives;
often loss of his home;
loss of much of his life savings;
a reduced pension;
and ongoing costs for the next 10-20 years for which he receives nothing in return.
It is worth considering the situation of cohabiting couples with children. If a woman tires of a cohabiting man, she may :
rid herself of him, but will usually keep :
major control of the children;
and ongoing unearned money for the next 10-20 years.
However if a man tires of a cohabiting woman, he may :
rid himself of her, but will usually suffer a reduced ongoing life i.e. with :
minimal control of the children and can readily be excluded from their lives;
and ongoing costs for the next 10-20 years for which he receives nothing in return.
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