When it comes to fathers’ rights — meaning equal custody and visitation time — this is something that affects not only dads, but the entire family — including ex-wives and children. And, while the courts are starting to come around with shared parenting — and not always just putting the mothers in charge — there still needs to be more done.
This is where Leading Women for Shared Parenting hopes to make a difference. The advocacy group is going to officially launch on Father’s Day.
What makes this advocacy group rather different is that it brings a group of women together — congresswomen, professors, social workers, family law experts, domestic abuse experts, along with grandmothers and children raised by fathers — to voice their opinions on why it is important for dad to be equally involved and have a say in how his children are being raised.
In terms of shared parenting, according to a study published in the journal Psychology, Public Policy and Law, statistically there is no gender difference when it comes to just who is supporting shared parenting. In this study, in most hypothetical situations both men and women wanted to see shared custody be awarded.
However, even though shared custody is the preferred custody arrangement among many people — including mothers — the laws do not always reflect this. There are still many cases where the mother is favored.
The hope is that by having an advocacy group of women — pushing for fathers’ rights — this will bring to light the fact that shared parenting is not a male only issue.
Source: The Star Tribune, “Rosenblum: Divorced dads get big gift from fired-up moms,” Gail Rosenblum, June 8, 2013
