2006-04-20 “Men in Black” Black Fridays for Divorced Canadian Men and Non-Custodial Fathers

Divorced and separated Men and Fathers across Canada are declaring every Friday a Black Friday as part of a silent protest against the destructive anti-male, anti-father anti-family bias and discrimination that exists in the family court system.  They will be joined by non-custodial Mothers, various Grand-parent and other protest and equal parenting groups supporters in the protest. Interest in a world wide Black Friday protest has been received internationally. Activists and protest groups in several other countries are expected to join Canada in support and solidarity.

Starting tomorrow (Friday 21 April 2006) divorced and separated fathers, non custodial Mothers, and various Grand-parenting and other supporting groups across Canada are being encouraged to don black clothing every Friday as a mark of respect and mourning for the loss of their children, property and rights as a result of biased, discriminatory and unfair treatment under Canadian Family Law. 

Editor’s notes:

• Percentage of non-custodial mothers who pay child support in Canada: 1%

• Percentage of custodial mothers awarded child support orders: 94%

• Percentage of custodial fathers awarded child support orders: 30%

• Rate for men failing in their appeals with the Appeal Court of Ontario: 92%

• Ratio of women vs. men who gain sole custody: 7 to 1

• Number of years this ratio has remained constant: 10-15 years

• The biggest group of so-called deadbeats is women, not men:  there are more than twice as many women non-custodial parents evading child support than men.

• 93% of female non-custodial parents don't pay any child support

• Less than 9% of parents believe Canadian Courts deal effectively with ‘access’.

• 70% of marriage break-up is instigated by women.

• The only group which benefits from an improved standard of living after divorce is high-income women.

• Biased courts force men to pay up to 8.5 times the average of women at the same income levels.

• Judges award high income women more child support than low income women, for the same father income.

• Custody and access problems cost parents and society more than is paid in child support.

• The higher the income, the greater the bias against men and the more leniently women are treated in child support.

• The actual percentage of fathers not paying child support and thus allowing men as a group to inherit the term “dead-beat Dad” is between 7 and 13%.

• Child Support Guidelines" are used by biased courts to sharply increase the percentage of fathers shut out of children's lives.

• In the family, women are more abusive, particularly with weapons, than men.

• Despite popular common belief, most of the victims of domestic violence are male.

• Figures for women killing newborn babies don’t show up in domestic violence statistics.

• Female sole custody is behind much of children's development problems.

• A father is more essential for successful children than the mother. 

• A rising rate of mental illness in separated women is causing child abuse and custody and access conflicts.

• Canada's Supreme Court says women win in family court because of their sex, not by "merit".

• Single mother broken families are the engine which produces most criminals, suicides, unmarried teen pregnancies, rapists, school dropouts and drug abuse.

• In 1991, 31% of marriages ended in divorce; in 1998 this rose to 38% in 2002 the figure was 43% and in 2006 it is thought to be as high as 53%

• More people are choosing common-law relationships, which have greater likelihood of ending in separation (up to 60% in some provinces) compared to traditional marriage.

• 4 out of 5 repeat young offenders are single parent children.

• 82% of crime is from repeat young offenders

• An estimated 3-5 divorced and separated fathers commit suicide every day

• There are no shelters for men in Canada

• Some women suffer from the same disadvantages under Canadian family law

• Every day fathers are removed from their children’s lives after separation and divorce

• The figures on domestic violence are inaccurate and hopelessly slanted against men