2005-02-xx 

INTRODUCTION

The following very important social issues have been identified by conducting 3 years of non-funded research and by involvement with various non-custodial fathers groups. These issues must be addressed, despite their sensitive nature. Non-custodial fathers in crisis must be validated and supported in a positive way by our community. Otherwise we will continue to perpetuate and exacerbate the family violence that we have so strongly apposed.

NEO-FEMINISM

Sadly, the neo-feminist movement of the past decade has taken a turn to the radical, and only served to create more social problems than it has solved them, as apposed to liberal feminism, which has historically and legitimately driven the cause of equal rights for women. My research indicates that anti-male radical feminism has influenced governments to such an extent that is creating a climate of prejudice against fathers in our society and in Family Court. It has become entrenched in every corner of society - education, family law, social services and community programming. This had lead to government policies that only serve to push fathers out of the family, resulting in the inevitable ruin of families and increased cost to the taxpayer. At no time does this report deny that there is violence against women. However, we do espouse that the millions of dollars of gender-based funding has contributed to the mass dissemination of biased, anti-male propaganda on family violence to governments, institutions, the general public and the media.   It is spreading fear and prejudice against males. This is unhealthy for the collective self-esteem of males and non-custodial fathers and funding must be put into place to support the victims of this entrenched discrimination.

FALSE ALLEGATIONS

My research indicates that governments have created several economic and other incentives for mothers to make false claims of violence against fathers. For example, regardless of a woman’s economic status, she would qualify for legal aid if she claimed to be fleeing violence and risked losing access to her children. She would get automatic interim custody of her children with an ex-parte order (meaning the father is not contacted). Women who claim to be fleeing violence do not have to participate in the 2 year employability test with Income Assistance. Women who claim to be fleeing violence also qualify for free employment training. Women also get free advice and legal services via transition houses, regardless of the fact that transition houses do not ask for proof that abuse actually occurred. This adds further artillery to the case for custody, even though the claim may be proven wrong in court. They also get put to the top of assisted housing lists if they are living in a transition house and one mother admitted to me it was the sole reason why she moved to a transition house. Given these strong incentives, how can anyone deny that false claims exist? In Family Court, allegations do not need to be proven “beyond a reasonable doubt”, but rather as “a balance of probabilities”. If women have the backing of millions of dollars in funding, then it’s very easy to prove those probabilities. The provincial government is giving women a huge advantage over fathers and that is morally wrong. I ask, is this a democracy, especially when fathers are not even contacted to appear in court to defend themselves against a false claim? Isn’t that against the Canadian Constitution?
 
Also, the Zero Tolerance Violence Policy has lead to taxpayer money being spent on incarcerating non-custodial fathers without cause, without providing any funding to support them in a positive way. What kind of health impacts does that have? In our peer support group, fathers have continually claimed that they have been arrested for simply trying to pick up their children on their court ordered access visits. Many times fathers have been arrested when they were in fact the victims of assault.

Family Maintenance Enforcement Program

Fathers have a different perspective about the Family Maintenance Enforcement program. Economic status of mothers is important to look at, but not at the financial ruin of fathers. Fathers have been stereotyped as dead-beat dads that run from child support payments. The truth is that only 4% of all fathers choose not to be involved with their kids. The others desperately want to be, but are prevented from doing so by the Courts. Fathers are assessed on “imputed” income meaning “what they are capable of earning,” not what they actually earn. This often leaves fathers in desperate financial situations so they cannot provide for themselves, let alone to have quality time with their kids.

GOVERNMENTS

I also examined the process by which policies on families are made. For example, in 2002, the Ministry for Children and Families and the Ministry for Community, Aboriginal and Women’s Services participated in a lengthy study that examined “child protection issues in cases of violence against women.” Various women’s groups from around the province were invited to participate.  Yet, this very ministry admitted that more children were apprehended from the homes of single mothers and therefore more child abuse and neglect is committed by single mothers. I questioned why there was so much focus on the “violence against women” aspect of child protection, when more child abuse is committed by women. I am very concerned that this study will lead to even more incentives for false claims, thereby further pushing fathers out of the family.
 
There are approximately 200 different “Child Who Witness Abuse Programs,” delivered to children in Transition Houses which would have used a lot of tax dollars. It appears, by this policy, that children witnessing abuse of their mothers is more harmful to them than directly being abused and neglected by their mothers. Transition houses do not use trained child psychologists to work with resident children. The only qualification required to work with children in transition houses is feminist studies. This could be why so many children are being coerced against their fathers during the time they are staying in transition houses. How traumatic could it be for children to be coerced against the father that they love and trust? If governments see witnessing abuse as such a terrible trauma to children then why aren’t children being counseled by qualified professionals?
 
This research revealed that the means by which information on family violence is collected is problematic. There is a great deal of information, in fact an entire Ministry, that focuses only on violence against women, but statistics on the number of child apprehension cases from single mothers remain buried from the public. Child abuse statistics are only categorized by native versus non-native, but not by gender. Given that governments are aware of the national crisis in Family and Divorce Law, and that the federal government is seeking changes, I question why no studies have been done on the negative effects of false allegations and parental alienation on families, especially given that it is the government that has strongly contributed to the problem. I participated in the Ministry for Children and Families “Community Consultation Process” and have plans to address these issues with the new regionally established Community Based Service Delivery Programs.
 
The Ministry for Children and Families web site is completely absent of the word “father.” This is reflective of the anti-male sentiment in society. It reads to me that fathers do not appear to be part of the family. This must be a frightening reality for those viewers who are non-custodial fathers.

CONCLUSION

Non-custodial fathers have become second-class citizens who are being denied their constitutional rights and discarded from the family. These problems have become entrenched in every corner of society and widespread throughout the province and the nation. We have made sincere efforts to participate in the policy-making process, but have been outnumbered by those with opposing views, who make strong, orchestrated efforts to maintain the status quo.
 
The following issues must be raised with and heard by our municipal, provincial and federal governments; social planners, service providers, counselors, schools boards and the courts in order for positive change to take place. Forums must be put into place by all parties in order for walls to be broken down and for open discussion to take place. This can only benefit families and the community as a whole. We are simply trying to raise awareness about the negative effects of the historic gender-based politics in our society.

IDENTIFIED ISSUES / WITHOUT PREJUDICE

These issues have been raised on a consistent basis in various peer support programs for non-custodial fathers. Information was also collected by hearing stories from individuals, from reading court affidavits, attending family court hearings and from advocacy, research and lobbying governments. The following information reflects activities in North Vancouver, Surrey, White Rock, Sechelt, East Vancouver, Richmond, Port Coquitlam, New Westminster and Burnaby. The problem is much more widespread, both provincially and nationally, as these stories are shared with groups across the country.   This account is true to the best of my knowledge and is not intended to offend anyone.
 

Regarding false allegations against fathers in Family Court

•  That false allegations and perjury are widespread in Family Court.
•  That fathers lose access to their children for lengthy periods of time due to false allegations of spousal assault and child abuse
•  That, even when allegations are proven wrong, they continue to haunt fathers through the entire court process and lose access to their children regardless.
•  That lawyers have encouraged women to make false allegations in order to win custody and stage incidences that provoke confrontation to add evidence for sole custody. (Sechelt)
•  That a lawyer collaborated with transition house workers to encourage the writing of affidavits based on false claims of violence and child abuse (Yew Transition House, Sechelt)
• That women have made fraudulent calls to the RCMP when fathers come to pick up children for their regular access visits and have been arrested. 

Regarding Service Providers:

• That service providers and transition house workers have unknowingly participated in coercing children against fathers due to the fact that they do not ask for adequate proof of child abuse and spousal assault allegations.
•  That transition house workers have knowingly coerced children against fathers in counseling, influenced children to avoid making telephone access calls, added artillery to false allegations with letters based on exaggerated information (Sechelt, Yew Transition House)
•  That women were encouraged to stage incidences that would provoke anger in a man in order to further the mother’s case for custody. (Sechelt and everywhere)
•  That feminist transition house workers have influenced children against the Muslim religion (Sechelt).
•  Fathers have reported harassment, provocation and intimidation by transition house staff (Sechelt).
•  That there is no accountability.  Complaints to Ministries and the RCMP were not adequately responded to.
•  That there is a lack of awareness amongst established service provider organizations about false allegations against fathers and their effects.
•  That service providers do not appear to be taking initiatives to educate themselves about these issues despite knowledge of the national campaign to bring fairness to fathers in Divorce.

Regarding the emotional health of men as a result of false allegations, parental alienation and the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program:

•  That men have committed suicide, suffer from mental, physical and emotional health issues, financial ruin due to the Family Court process
•  That there is no funding specific to services for men.
•  That grandparents are denied access to their grandchildren for lengthy periods of time due to false allegations against their non-custodial sons.
•  That fathers are looking for services for men, delivered by men, that validate these injustices.

Regarding men being victims of spousal abuse:

•  That many males have been victims of spousal abuse, both psychological and physical
•  Some have been seriously injured by females
•  That men themselves have been arrested when they are in fact the victims

Regarding practices of ministry workers:

•  That the word “Father” is nowhere to be found on the Ministry for Children & Family’s web site.
• That the MCF has excluded non-custodial fathers from the decision-making process around their own children.
•  That organizations, contracted by the Ministry for Children and Families (such as the Elizabeth Fry Society) are those with mission statements to assist only women, therefore have made fathers feel unwelcome and unfairly treated.
•  That there is a huge need for professional organizations representing non-custodial fathers to be contracted by the Ministries to perform supervised access, counseling services etc.
•  That Ministries do not appear to be taking initiatives to educate themselves about this issue, despite knowledge of the national campaign to bring changes to Family Law.
•  That the Ministry for Children and Families and the Ministry for Community, Aboriginal and Women’s Services has refused the participation of a group representing non-custodial fathers in a study on family violence.
•  That the Ministry for Community, Aboriginal and Women’s Services has not held accountable the Yew Transition House in Sechelt for harbouring a female fugitive that was abusing her daughter.  The MCAWS has also not held them accountable for unethical, unprofessional activity and psychological abuse of children despite numerous complaints to them.

 Thank you,

Elise Roberts: Human Rights Activist

Attn: Pat Heal: Chair

Family Court and Youth Justice Committee:

City of North Vancouver

District of North Vancouver

City of West Vancouver

 Dear Ms. Heal,

 I have just learned of the Family Court and Youth Justice Committee and was truly surprised that, after 2 years of consulting with social planners about starting a society to assist non-custodial fathers in crisis, we were never advised about this committee nor encouraged to participate in it, especially when it is very specific to our society’s mandate and mission statement.  

 The fact that it only addresses Family Justice with respect to “violence against women in relationships,” is deplorable. This is only a small part of Family Law, yet the committee is entirely focused on the issue of violence against women.   The committee focus is outdated and only reflects one small aspect of Family Law. It is a hangover from biased NDP anti-male policies and must be changed to reflect updated information from Statistics Canada and the disturbing realities that non-custodial fathers are facing in Family Court.   This committee and the recommendations that stem from it, cannot possibly be in the best interests of children.

The violence against women hysteria has created a huge bias against fathers in family court. It has served only to spread fear and prejudice against males, thereby creating a male unfriendly society.  It has served to create policies that push fathers further out of the family, even when statistics show that more child abuse is committed by single mothers.   In essence, it has created more social problems that it has solved them. 

The Violence Against Women industry has set up a series of very strong incentives for mothers to make false claims against fathers.  For example, regardless of a woman’s economic status, she would qualify for legal aid if she claimed to be fleeing violence and risked losing access to her children.  She would get automatic interim custody of her children with an exparte order.  Women who claim to be fleeing violence do not have to participate in the 2 year employability test with Income Assistance.  Women who claim to be fleeing violence also qualify for free employment training. Women also get free advice and legal services via transition houses, regardless of the fact that transition houses do no ask for proof that abuse actually occurred. This adds further artillery to the case for custody, even though the claim may be proven wrong in court.  Given these strong incentives, how can anyone deny that false claims exist?

 There is no denying that Family Law needs change and must focus on the needs of children.  This was the sole reason for the 5 year long national study “For the Sake of the Children Campaign,” which consulted all Canadians, not just the opinion of radical feminists.  More updated information from Statistics Canada indicates that both men and women are victims of domestic violence. Single mothers are more often the perpetrators of child abuse, yet these policies push fathers out of the family, thereby contributing to an increase in child abuse.  If this committee is to truly serve the needs of the community, it must address ALL ASPECTS of Family Law, otherwise it speaks to a human rights issue under Section 7 of the Human Rights Act. 

 I would also like to inquire how this committee gathers its information?  Do you have representatives that attend family court cases?  Do you gather information on people’s personal files? We are currently coordinating volunteers to gather all documentation, minutes, policies, correspondence etc. regarding this committee in order to analyze it for bias.

 We are linked with father’s rights groups across the nation who agree that the radical feminist violence agenda is destructive to families and the biased agenda of this committee is just part of the problem.  The biggest issue regarding false allegations against fathers is this: Balance of Probabilities versus Beyond a Reasonable Doubt.  The standards for protection of the accused are much less rigid in Family Court than they are in criminal court.  If women have all the community support to ad artillery to false allegations, and to prove these “probabilities” and men have no community support, then I ask IS THIS A DEMOCRACY?  This is a breach of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, equal representation under the law. 

Our members collectively have indicated very strong evidence to the following - Regarding men being victims of spousal abuse:

• That many males have been victims of spousal abuse, both psychological and physical
• That males have been seriously injured by females
• That men themselves have been arrested when they are in fact the victims
• That females do not get arrested when they commit spousal assault, even in front of witnesses

Regarding false allegations against fathers in Family Court:

• That false allegations are rampant in Family Court
• That perjury is rampant in Family Court
• That fathers lose access to their children for lengthy periods of time due to false allegations
• That even when allegations are proven wrong, they continue to haunt fathers through the entire court process and lose access to their children regardless
• That service providers have encouraged women to make false allegations in order to win custody
• That lawyers have encouraged women to make false allegations in order to win custody
• That women have made fraudulent calls to the RCMP when fathers come to pick up children for their regular access visits and men have been arrested regardless

Regarding Service Providers:

• That service providers have encouraged women to make false allegations in order to win custody
• That service providers have added artillery to false allegations by supporting women with letters based on fraudulent information
• That service providers have participated in coercing children against their fathers in counseling
• That, in one incident, when a woman, who was violent towards her husband and abusive towards her children, called a service provider to seek help for her problem, she was told to pretend that she was the victim and to take her children and leave the house
• That transition house workers have encouraged women to stage incidences that would provoke anger in a man in order to further the mother’s case for custody
• That there is no process by which service providers nor transition houses ask for verification of the truth around spousal assault in order not to waste taxpayers money.
• That women go to transition houses, even when they are not victims of violence, to get put to the top of assisted housing lists
• That there is a huge lack of awareness and, in fact an orchestrated denial, amongst established service providers about false allegations against fathers
• Than service providers are not taking initiatives to educate themselves about this issue, despite knowledge of the national campaign to bring changes to Family Law

Regarding the emotional health of men as a result of false allegations:

• That men have committed suicide
• That men are suffering from severe mental, physical and emotional health issues
• That men are suffering from financial ruin due to the Family Court process
• That there is no funding specific to services for men

We also have evidence that grandparents are denied access to their grandchildren for lengthy periods of time due to false allegations against their sons. 

Given that Family Court and Youth Justice Committees are provincially mandated and therefore in every municipality, Equal Parenting Group Society of North Vancouver has started a provincial campaign to raise awareness about this prejudicial process. We will be contacting other fathers groups around the province, gathering evidence and contacting the Attorney General’s office.  

We expect to be heard on this issue and will NOT be shut out of the process any longer.

Sincerely,

Elise Roberts