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Entries in International Perspectives (320)

Tuesday
Mar152011

'New' Versus 'Radical' Feminism

With special guests:

  • Erin Pizzey and
  • Dr. Elizabeth Farrelly.

Most young women today no longer support the extreme views expressed by radical feminists, with many of them considering these views to be held by “hairy legged man haters”, who will not be satisfied until all power and control over every facet of our existence rests in the hands of women. Today’s women know, that if they wish to attain high positions of power in our modern society, being a woman is no longer a barrier to their ambitions.   

Modern women actually love their men, and already know that the only barriers to achievement depends on their willingness to commit to the long hours and dedication required in their chosen field of endeavour, and not the fact they are a woman. Female role models in powerful positions abound in the western democracies, thus forcing the radical feminists to resort to hysterical anti-male fear  campaigns, such as the alleged world wide Domestic Violence epidemic, in a desperate attempt to remain relevant.    

On today’s program we explore these modern expressions of feminism and take a closer look at the history of feminism, with two highly respected ‘NEW’ feminists.   

First up we speak with Erin Pizzey, founder of the Modern Women’s Shelter Movement and International Author. We will discuss her new book “This Way to the Revolution - An Autobiography” which is is ready for pre-order.  

The opening of a small community centre for maltreated women in Chiswick in 1971 was to bring Pizzey to the front line of what was becoming a national issue in a time when feminists were still treated with hostility and derision by right-wing figures, but also when left-wing radicals scorned anyone, like Pizzey, who put humanity before ideology.  

By the mid-seventies, Pizzey found herself under bomb threat and picketed by feminists for allowing men to staff refuges: this led to a long exile from the UK where she kept up her activities and achieved international recognition, while also re-inventing herself as a best-selling writer. Erin Pizzeys life and trials have been unique: her story is a compelling one, vital to any understanding of a more revolutionary age and burning issues that still resonate today.  

Next we speak with Dr. Elizabeth Farrelly, who is  an opinion writer with the ‘Sydney Morning Herald, Author and Architect.  Elizabeth writes a weekly opinion column and has written critical columns on architecture, urban design and planning for the Sydney Morning Herald. She has also written insightful essays in the Sydney Morning Herald’s Spectrum, and articles in international journals as well as The Age, the Bulletin, the Architecture Bulletin, Architecture Australia, Architectural Theory Review, Interior Design, Pol Oxygen and Monument.

An articulate and engaging speaker, Elizabeth Farrelly has made several television and radio appearances and spoken publicly, often sharing the stage with Hon. Paul Keating.   

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Tuesday
Mar082011

New Feminism

With special guests:

  • Dr. Elizabeth Celi and
  • Barbara Kay.

Today is International Women’s Day, and in sharp contrast to the struggling International Men’s Day, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate their achievements. On this day a global web of rich and diverse local activities, connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking events through to local women’s craft markets, theatre performances, fashion parades and more.         

Women now hold many positions of power in a huge variety of endeavours and rightly so, yet the catchcry of victimhood continues to dominate the debate and is promoted by the views of the vocal radical feminists, who relentlessly attack and ridicule men at every opportunity. Unfortunately these extreme and outdated relics of a past era, persist with blaming all men for the world’s ills and support their distorted view of reality with a steady flow of corrupt data and statistics.          

They speak about the gender wage gap and the great need for equal pay for women. However, in most countries it is illegal to engage in paying a woman less for doing the same job and working the same hours as the man. We therefore challenge them to produce just one woman who finds herself in that position.

The fact is that some industries and professions just happen to pay more than others, and it therefore has more to do with women working less hours and/or that many of them work in industries or professions that happen to pay less. Or are they perhaps suggesting that every industry and profession should have the same rate of pay?          

Thankfully, the next generation of NEW Feminists are the more enlightened women in our communities who have moved on, and can see through this facade of victimhood and consider it counter productive to persist in engaging in a destructive power struggle with men. They understand the need for true equality and readily support the needs of men, and in turn are supported by the men.         

We speak to two such women today, and begin the show with an informative interview with Dr Elizabeth Celi, Psychologist, Author and social commentator. Dr. Celi completed a First Class Honours degree in Psychology and Psychophysiology and successfully achieved her Doctoral qualification from The Department of Psychiatry at The University of Melbourne. In addition to her workshops, advocacy and clinical practices, in regional and inner city, Dr. Celi currently sits on the Board of the Australian Psychological Society.          

Through regular TV and radio appearances and interviews, lectures, workshops, seminars and publications, Dr. Celi helps to debunk the negative myths and stereotypes about Men – our fathers, husbands, uncles, grandfathers, sons and brothers. Elizabeth champions the need for more positive male role models through a renewed appreciation and mutual respect for the strengths and skills of men and masculinity, as they now apply, in the 21st Century.          

To get an International perspective we speak to well known Canadian journalist Barbara Kay, who is a Columnist for the National Post newspaper. Barbara has an Honour BA in English Language and Literature, University of Toronto, and an M.A. in English Literature, McGill University as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow.          

She is an outspoken supporter of the equal rights of Men and Fathers, to enjoy the same rights as those currently awarded to women through the feminist inspired policies of our Governments, and is appalled at the bigotry and gender divisive mentality which continues to dominate in some of our Government Departments and Agencies, such as the Family Courts and the Domestic Violence Industry. Barbara will be talking about her upcoming column on feminism which is being released later this week for the Centenary of IWD.   

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Tuesday
Feb222011

Brazil Criminalizes Parental Alienation

With special guests:

  • Brian Ludmer
  • Dr. Tamara Brockhausen and
  • Judge Elizio Perez.

Finally the world has witnessed the first Government with the courage and insight to recognize and legislate for the criminalization of Parental Alienation. Brazil is the first country in the world to actually enshrine the cursed criminal behavior of Parental Alienation into its criminal code of justice. By so doing, Brazil is now leading the way into facing up to the  world’s human rights responsibilities, which obliges every country to protect the human rights of it’s nations’ children, by ensuring all their children enjoy a continuing relationship with both of their responsible parents.  

First up we speak with Brian Ludmer, Lawyer and Expert on Parental Alienation in Toronto Canada. Brian is a highly credentialed lawyer with expertise in corporate /commercial and securities law and Family Law, most particularly with Parental Alienation.

The advantages of having exposure to both fields is that his commercial background brings a perspective to what Family Law could be or should be when Family Law is often dysfunctional. The understanding promotes negotiations between parents. The difference is that in business the benefits are often shared which may not be the case in Family Law. In Family Law it is often a zero sum with winner takes all instead of the optimal situation of two healthy homes.

Brian has written many papers on PA. He defines PA as a pattern of behaviour or a strategy by an aligned parent leading to a rejection in whole or in part of the other parent. You look at the results to determine if it is mild, moderate or severe. It is sometimes called “Parental Alienation Syndrome.”

We then speak with Tamara Brockhausen Psychologist and writer on Parental Alienation from Sao Paolo, Brazil, who is the wife of Judge Elizio Perez, the Brazilian Judge who wrote the world’s first Law criminalising Parental Alienation from Sao Paolo, Brazil. Tamara kindly volunteered to translates the interview with Judge Perez.

Judge Perez commented that although parental alienation occurs in Brazil as it does in other countries the justice system ignored it until the legislation that he introduced.

The law has been in place in Brazil since August 2010. There is still some resistance in Brazil to even the existence of PA among professionals such as therapists so the Judge sees this as a good thing that the law is in place.

The broader application of the law is that parents who are worried that there may be PA occurring can read the law for themselves and then ask questions. They are worried about the penalties to which they may be exposing themselves.

A good thing about the new law is that PA is set out and defined so Judges can do something without having to wait for a report from Psychologists or other professional experts.

Judge Perez said that the list of symptoms set out in the law came from the professional advisers such as therapists and affected parents. When proved in Court the Judge can impose a fine or one of the other penalties.

The penalties available include uncapped fines. The Judge determines the amount of the fine after taking everything into account including the severity of the alienation and the means of the parents. Fines have ranged from $100 to $1000 a day while the alienation continues. Other remedies include increasing the time with a parent or making it joint. If joint is not possible the Judge can reverse the residence order.

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Tuesday
Jan042011

Family Court's Reward Perjury, Punish Victims

With special guest:

  • ‘Rick’

Welcome to 2011, a year that will see more Australians denied access to their families than ever before in our history. At the start of this new decade, 5.2 million Australian men, women and children find themselves having been forcibly torn from their loved ones, since the Family Justice Industry began waging its reign of terror in 1975.  

We live in a dark period of our history, where, under the self serving leadership of six different Prime Ministers, not one politician has had the courage to stand up in Parliament and challenge this multi billion dollar juggernaut, by saying loud and clear “this is wrong and indefensible and I will no longer offer my support”.

Instead, collectively, we choose to silently tolerate the following examples of reprehensible behaviour by those engaged in the perjury riddled Family Justice Industry, which richly rewards perjurers and punishes the victims. Incredibly we continue to remain mesmerized by the mythical ‘Best Interest of the Children’ slogan, so deceptively used to remove many million’s of Australians from their families, and causing 35,000 of the nations’ father’s to commit suicide since 1975.  

If anyone should still be in doubt about the abhorrent extend of the family destructive outcomes meted out by a judiciary, which goes about rewarding perjurers and punishing the victims in our Family Courts, while at the same time fraudulently claiming they have no alternatives, please note the following:

Perjury Rewarded 1
Perjury Rewarded 2
Perjury Rewarded 3


In order to further illustrate the depth of Government complicity through the multitude of agencies which administer their family destructive policies, on today’s program we speak to one such dispossessed parent ‘Rick’ [not his real name for legal reasons], who was jailed for sending a birthday card to his young daughter.   

Today’s newsletter, the first for 2011, has been forwarded to every Australian Politician, who has been elected to represent all Australians in our Federal Parliament, taking away any future option to plead ignorance.     


We repeat our invitation to any Australian Politician who would like to join us on air, to publicly defend and justify the proposed Family Law Amendments, which stand to further encourage perjurers, destroy family relationships, and cause increasing numbers of the nation’s children to be abandoned into the care of the most dysfunctional of their parents.   

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Tuesday
Dec282010

Parents Under Siege

With special guest:

  • ‘Daniel’

Biological parents around the globe, both mothers and fathers, are under siege from the brutal excesses of their own government’s crippling Family Law legislation, which sees many millions being dispossessed of their children on the bases of the flimsiest of allegations made by toxic ex partners, aided by State functionaries.    

Today we speak to one of those biological parents ‘Daniel’ [not his real name for legal reasons], a distraught Australian father who has spent the past 13 years desperately trying to have his son returned to his care and protection, following the boys’ removal from his parents’ care by Docs of NSW,  on the ground of allegations of abuse and neglect, which were subsequently proven to be false.

The desperate emotional trauma of having their son removed on the basis of false allegations, eventually resulted in the marriage breakdown, and this father is almost at the end of his tether at not having had contact with his long lost son for many years.

More questions therefore urgently need to be asked in order to establish the possible underlying causes for such a disturbing high level of government involvement in the lucrative child stealing racket that appears to be taking place.

Of particular interest is the fact that the governments’ own reports show that tens of thousands of the nation’s children are removed from one or more of their parents every year with the help of a number of government agencies such as the Family Courts, the Domestic Violence Industry and the Departments of Community Services. This has resulted in 5.2 million innocent Australians having been denied contact with their loved ones since 1975, on the say so of the country’s worst perjurers, child kidnappers, and State functionaries, who consider this to be in “Our Best Interest”.  

Instead, the Gillard Government in Australia is proposing further Family Law amendments in 2011, which define the raising of your voice or throwing a threatening glance as abusive acts, and will immediately brand every Australian both as an abuser and a victim,  making it even easier to make vexatious claims. Currently similar barbaric State DV legislation is used to separate parents from their children, property and savings, since false allegations can be made with absolute impunity. This establishes a parenting arrangement which favors the perjurer and accommodates the insidious practice of parental kidnapping. Yet perjury is a crime that strikes at the very heart of justice!  

Any toxic parent, either a mother or father, who makes a pre-emptive first strike by taking such action becomes a winner, as such parenting arrangements obtained by deception, are generally rubber stamped by the Federal Family Court. Incredibly, in such cases the FCA in its infinite wisdom, does not want to upset the established living arrangements with the perjurer, as it considers this to not be “In the Best Interest of the Children”.  It is common knowledge, that those working in the lucrative divorce industry regularly suggest this course of action to their clients, as for them the priority is money, not children.  

Many of the children who were dispossessed of their families in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, are now adults with children of their own. Unfortunately a large number are still of the false belief that their other parent was a horrible, unworthy person who abandoned them, not caring about their child’s well-being. In most cases, nothing could be further from the truth. Sadly these children were not only denied a happy wholesome childhood, but lost half of their biological family as well. Even as adults, most still live with the indoctrinated false perceptions of reality, which were implanted during their childhood, blissfully unaware that 35,000 of their fathers have committed suicide, due to the forcible loss of their children since 1975. Countless others have turned to substance abuse as they self medicate to kill their pain.  

Our elected representatives of all political persuasions, continue to blindly accept the distorted views of the anti-shared parenting lobby, while conveniently choosing to ignore all the available data that suggests otherwise, for reasons of political expediency.

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Tuesday
Dec142010

She-Wolves and Parental Alienation

With special guests:

  • Elizabeth Willmott Harrop and
  • Professor William Bernet M.D.

As the year draws to a close, we wish we could draw a line under the demise of fathers and their children, but there is no end in sight to the level of ignorance that prevails in our community, about the destructive practices of the divorce industry. Not until they face the somber prospect of being permanently separated from their children, do parents start to look around at what they face. In most cases it is far to late, and the outcome for the vast majority is soul destroying.   
She may not be the first, nor will she be the last, to speak out in abhorrence at the level of accepted community bigotry. However on the subject of female child abusers, nobody does it better than Elizabeth Willmott Harrop, “She-Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing”. Elizabeth resides in New Zealand, is a freelance writer, and has a Masters Degree in Human Rights and Social Change.

If anyone should be in doubt about the true state of who is actually involved with the abuse of children in our communities, they should listen to this weeks’ excellent interview with Elizabeth. As a well informed social commentator from New Zealand, she has carefully researched the subject, and articulates her findings with a passion, reserved for those stung by a horrible truth.

Elizabeth details her research, which includes statistics from the USA , Australia and the UK, as well as that of her native New Zealand, and the global findings are frighteningly similar.

What is most distressing is the level of Government unwillingness to recognize the findings of a plethora of studies, which reveal that female child abusers not only exist, but in actual number, almost equals the number of male abusers.

Unbelievably, despite the wealth of credible information available, elected representatives in the western democracies, persist in turning a blind eye to the truth about this issue, resulting in the drafting of hopelessly ineffective child protection legislation, which continues to be founded on a distorted perception of reality.  

Our second guest is Professor William Bernet M.D, who is Professor of Psychiatry at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, USA.  Dr. Bernet has been a member of the faculty since 1992, and is the director of Vanderbilt Forensic Services, the program that applies psychiatric expertise to legal situations.  Professor Bernet’s research provides valuable insight into the Parental Alienation Syndrome, and his work and efforts for better recognition of this phenomenon is to be applauded.   

The many parents and children who have had this unwanted abuse inflicted upon them, are well advised to listen to the interviews with these highly respected experts, and perhaps find some understanding and solace, for their undoubted emotional torment at having been forcibly separated from those they love most.

Listen Now (MP3)

Tuesday
Nov302010

Wrap-Up of a Men's Month

With special guests:

  • Diane Sears
  • Warwick Marsh and
  • Yousaf Jamal.

This week signals the end of November, a month which has seen a number of men centric initiatives take centre stage around the world, as it celebrates and honours the importance of men in our societies. The Movember campaign, along with International Men’s Day, head the list of actions taken by men, to draw attention to societies’ current devaluation of the role of Men, Fathers and Boys. 

Our first guest is Diane Sears, who is the USA Coordinator of International Men’s Day [IMD] 2010 and who is a member of the IMD Coordination Committee. Sears is a member of the University Council for Akamai University’s Fatherhood and Men’s Studies Program, which is located in Hilo, Hawaii.  She advises the President of Akamai University on Fatherhood issues and assists him in the enhancement of the institution’s Fatherhood and Men’s Studies curriculum and in forming strategic alliances with national and international Fatherhood organizations.  

Diane Sears is also a celebrated author and the following is an excerpt from one of her books ‘IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD’. “Men play an important role in our lives. They are the glue that holds our families, our communities, and our world together. Yet, despite the valuable contributions Men make, as a whole, they are generally taken for granted, summarily dismissed, ridiculed and negatively stereotyped in television situation comedies, and mis-characterized as emotionless automatons. Men laugh, love, grieve, dream, and cry. They are very complex individuals. Their hearts and souls can be easily crushed. Men want to be treated with dignity and respect. They have valuable life lessons to teach about integrity, courage, sacrifice, faith, commitment, compassion, loyalty, unconditional love, transcending boundaries, and successfully navigating the world outside of our immediate environment”.

“When Men know deep within their heart of hearts that we respect them and when we have demonstrated that we are nonjudgmental and willing to listen, they will bare their souls. It is a magical and moving moment when a Man shares his innermost thoughts and feelings – when he tells his story. The next time your father, uncle, grandfather, son, brother, husband, cousin, nephew or “significant other” engages you in a conversation, stop what you are doing and listen —really listen with an open mind and an open heart. He is telling you his story.”  

Our next guest is Warwick Marsh, who is the Media Coordinator for IMD 2010 and Founder of the Dads4Kids Fatherhood Foundation. The Dads4Kids Fatherhood Foundation is honoured to work with the founder of International Men’s Day, Dr Jerome Teelucksingh, as well as many other family-friendly men and fatherhood groups all over the world. Working together, in order to promote a unified celebration of manhood and the positive contribution that men make to society.  

Actively involved with improving the image and well being of men and boys, the Dads4Kids Fatherhood Foundation is also an Australian Harm Prevention Charity. Formed in 2002, their aim is to help turn the tide of fatherlessness as well as resource and encourage fathers. The mission of the Fatherhood Foundation is to improve the well-being of children by increasing the proportion of children growing up with involved, responsible, committed and loving fathers.  

Our final guest is Yousaf Jamal, who is the Pakistan Coordinator for International Men’s Day and the President and Founder of the first and only Men’s activism organization in Pakistan Rights and Rights International. Yousaf lives in Kot Addu and is the father of 8 children - 3 boys and 5 girls.   

Yousaf has observed in Pakistan over the last few years, that a lot of feminist organizations paint the whole male gender as cruel. Likewise in some prevailing laws there are many discriminatory clauses against men, particularly in Family Law. The Harassment in the Work Place Act is totally anti-male. And he has witnessed the steady decline of male participation at Higher Education and University level.

He also believes that the observance of an International Women’s Day by the United Nation without a counterpart is discriminatory. In order to highlight the issues being faced by men in Pakistan he started the male activist organization Rights and Rights International, this year in 2010.  

Yousaf Jamal held a very successful seminar on International Men’s Day, with many lawyers, educationists, social activists and representatives of Women’s organizations attending the seminar. Special tributes were paid to prominent male role models. Problems such as the under-representation of males in university and other education settings were discussed at the seminar. Female students in Karachi University total 90%, in Punjab University 70%, while in BZ University 52% students are female. This is really an alarming situation for males in Pakistan.  

Yousaf cautions that we should avoid the “EACH GENDER FOR ITSELF” approach and instead promote better gender relationships. He proposes that we should celebrate both Men’s Day and Women’s Day and asks everyone to join hands with Rights and Rights International for the elimination of Gender Based Discrimination.

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Tuesday
Nov232010

The New Manhood

With special guests:

  • Steve Biddulph and
  • David Hatfield.      

Our first guest this week is Steve Biddulph, ‘The New Manhood’, who is one of the world’s best known psychologists and a celebrated author of many books. We will discuss in detail the content of his latest book ‘The New Manhood’. His books, including Secret of Happy Children, Manhood, and Raising Boys, are in four million homes and 31 languages. They have influenced the way we look at childhood and especially the development of boys and men.

Steve was voted Australian Father of the Year in 2000 for his work encouraging the role of fathers. He lives in Tasmania with his wife Sharon, a large extended family, and assorted wombats.

Speaking about his first new book in 6 years, Steve says “The New Manhood contains everything I have learned about being male, from working as a therapist and educator with men, and living for almost sixty years, struggling, reflecting, and researching about how a man’s life either works, or does not.” The central message of the new book is the importance of purpose, and the idea that there is a single change that delineates a man from a boy. A man is someone who has gone beyond self, he enjoys life, but he lives for others.

The New Manhood is influenced by much powerful and new thinking – from elders like Richard Rohr, David Mowaljalai, David Schnarch, young men like Donald Miller. It features special sections on outstanding practitioners in education and therapy – preventing rape in South Africa, teaching manhood to boys in Melbourne, healing family violence in Northern NSW. Its message is for teenage boys, young men, family men, mid-life men and men growing old.The book is full of stories and is simple and easy to read. Steve counts this book as his best effort, perhaps of a lifetime, to affect the course of the times we live in.

Our second guest is Canadian David Hatfield, “Manology” who is an independent facilitator, experiential educator, trainer, and consultant. His professional interests revolve around issues of social justice, masculinity, and leadership. His passions lie in the meeting place of gender empathy and empowerment, rites of passage, conflict transformation, creativity, communication, and leadership training.

David’s engaging program design, facilitation, and keynote addresses are masterful and have been contracted nationally and internationally. As a specialist in male issues, David is a powerful guide in exploring notions of masculinity and a catalyst in illuminating and supporting new possibilities for both genders.

David is also the Canadian coordinator for International Men’s Day, and is proud to host the IMD event in Vancouver.  This is Vancouver’s first public celebration of International Men’s Day. The event will begin with an introduction to men’s day, a proclamation from the City of Vancouver, and several speakers and entertainers. Then everyone is welcome to mingle and meet the numerous participating organizations who will be sharing information and inviting participation in diverse ways. There will be games to play, food, fun, and creative opportunities to add your opinions and ideas into the mix!!

This event celebrates Men’s positive contributions, offers information about issues facing boys and men, and a chance to meet a diverse number of organizations in the community that are working to support the needs of boys, men and families.

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Tuesday
Nov162010

International Men's Day 2010

With special guests:

  • Dr. Jerome Teelucksingh
  • Samuel Nii Teiko Tackie
  • John D. Evans and
  • Cathleen Williams.

At a time when governments consider it their noble duty to send our young Men off to fight and die in far away foreign wars, supposedly in order to fight for the human rights of others, these young Men’s own human rights are being cruelly abused at home by their own governments.

Back home, it has become fashionable and acceptable, to engage in both overt and covert male-bashing, which is used to manipulate and massage community attitudes, and in so doing, paving the way for the subsequent removal of a Man’s children, home and savings.

However community outrage is growing, as it starts to question the validity of the spin, which supports the abhorrent government policies, that are decimating their families and destroying their men.

Many groups of enlightened Men and Women around the world are calling for better scrutiny, of the destructive anti-male propaganda, that is inflicting so much damage. These groups work hard at organizing the celebration of men, and drawing attention to the important roles Men play, in the shaping of the physical and emotional health of the next generation.

Today we dedicate the program to International Men’s Day, which is one such global occasion, used to celebrate the positive contributions and variegated experience of being male.

Our first guest is the founder of International Men’s Day, Dr. Jerome Teelucksingh, of Trinidad and Tobago. The citizens in Trinidad and Tobago were the first to celebrate IMD on the 19th November, 1999. The event was conceived and coordinated by Dr. Jerome Teelucksingh, history lecturer from the University of West Indies, and the first event was held at the Families in Action Headquarters in Port of Spain.

Dr. Teelucksingh chose the date partly to coincide with his father’s birthday, whom he felt was an excellent male role model, and also because it was the day in which the football team in his country created a level of unity which crossed gender, religious and ethnic divisions. He added, “I realized there was no day for men… some have said that there is Father’s Day, but what about young boys, teenagers and men who are not fathers?”

Our second guest is Samuel Nii Teiko Tackie, who is the President and Founder of Ghana Fatherhood Initiative Foundation (GFIF) and National Coordinator of International Men’s Day in Ghana. He is married and together with his wife has two wonderful children. Ghana Fatherhood Initiative Foundation (GFIF) is established to promote and encourage Committed, Available and Responsible (C.A.R) fatherhood in Ghana. It hopes to complement the efforts of mums and encourage dads who are dedicated and available to their families.

Samuel started GFIF in 2007, after doing some personal research on the effects of father absenteeism in the family. His aim was to create awareness of the social issues and family breakdown that arose from father absenteeism. At the same time fathers who are involved and present in the life of children need to be appreciated and encouraged to keep up with the good work. And for those who are yet to be fathers there is a need for education.

Our next guest is John D. Evans, who is an educator, humanitarian, folklorist, author, and poet whose literary work, Diary of A Renaissance Man, a component of The Evans Poetry Collection was named Children’s Choice 2008 by the International Reading Association, the Children’s Book Council, and 10,000 schoolchildren.

Mr. Evans has written several volumes of poetry over the last decade capturing over 200 years of African American poetry. Mr. Evans will coordinate the participation of individuals, organizations, institutions, and communities throughout the State of Illinois in connection with the worldwide observance of 2010 International Men’s Day.

We close the show with Cathleen Williams, a successful and multi-talented professional, who is the Executive Producer and Chief Executive Officer of an empowering and informative New York-based cable television news-magazine and contemporary forum, I’m Just Saying, that airs weekly. A public speaker, and trainer in health care, education, parenting, diversity, and personal development, Ms. Williams is the author of a unique parenting book, Single Mother: The New Father, Volume I: Sports, The Mother’s Playing Field.

Cathleen holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Delaware, a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, and a Master’s degree in Health Law from Seton Hall School of Law in New Jersey. Ms. Williams is a member of The American Association of Nurse Attorneys (TAANA), the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), and the New York County Lawyers Association.

We leave you with an extract from one of his poems that John D Evans recited on today’s show, which was truly a moving moment. It is an excerpt from Book Five of The Evans Poetry Collection, “Diary of a Renaissance Man: Axioms, Aphorisms, Art, and Poetry” by John D Evans.

“With veins that run deep in my soul
Vessels more precious than pure gold
A being so uniquely defined
Beauty that cannot be denied
Full of life
Hope
History
Of goodness
Grace
Destiny
From a perfect model molded by
Mighty, masterful hands
An awesome creature
No small wonder
I am a man”

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Tuesday
Nov092010

The Men's Network

With special guest:

  • Glen Poole.

On today’s program, we focus on the work of Glen Poole, who is chair of The Men’s Network, in England. While based in the UK, this movement is sure to expand across the globe, due to the parallel anti men/father bias, prevailing in most of the western democracies.

The Men’s Network in England – is a charitable organisation committed to improving the lives of men and boys in all areas of life – health, education, criminal justice, social justice, fatherhood etc. The aim of The Men’s Network is to take one small UK city – Brighton & Hove – and make it an international beacon of best practice that inspires other cities and countries around the world to take radical action to help all men and boys reach their fullest potential

Glen is 41 – works as a campaigns and communications consultant – and is best known his work as PR Director and Media Spokesman, for the infamous Fathers 4 Justice campaign, that he helped become a global phenomena 2003/2004. Glen was a stay-at-home dad in the late nineties and wrote for several parenting magazines in the UK about his experiences as a father.

He discovered the failings of the family law system at first hand after his wife left him when their only child was 2 years old. He found he was unable to win sole custody of his daughter, despite being her primary carer, but was successful in his fight for shared custody. He has shared parenting of his daughter for 11 years and is a passionate advocate of the need for radical reform and intervention worldwide to ensure that every human being has the best possible chance of having a great relationship with both their parents.  

Having worked extensively in the public and not-for-profit sectors Glen has observed at first hand the failings of the these services to meet the needs of men and boys in areas such as health, social care, education, housing etc – and as a result, Glen has long believed that there needs to be a Ministry For Men in the UK – and other countries too.

In March 2010 he joined forces with men in one city – Brighton & Hove, England – to form The Men’s Network – a charitable organisation that he believes will – in time - help transform the way the world works for men, boys and fathers. Glen has 5 years to complete the UK phase of this project, as he is heading for Australia in 2015 with his partner, who is a dual nationality citizen who spends her time between Byron Bay and England.

Glen is also dedicated to the promotion of International Men’s Day, and enthusiastically supports this upcoming event, due to be celebrated around the world on the 19th November 2010.

Last year, Dads on the Air dedicated a whole program to this important event, which will be repeated again this year. Accordingly next week’s program will  be totally focussed on International Men’s Day 2010, with a host of guests from all corners of the globe participating. 

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Tuesday
Nov022010

Men's Day In Movember

With special guests:

  • Rob Treharne
  • Sue Price and
  • Uma Challa.
The month of November, appears to be rapidly developing into a Men’s Month, both Nationally and Internationally. It sees a number of worthy initiatives, which focus on the need to respect and better recognize the important roles men play, in a healthy society and the human family.
 
At a time when it is fashionable to ignore the needs of men and their health and wellbeing, it is refreshing to learn that most women in our communities, are appalled at the level of ridicule, neglect and persecution, our men and boys are forced to endure, at the hands of our mainstream media and apathetic governments.
 
This week we speak with three dedicated International supporters of men, who are doing their best to raise awareness, to the perilous plight of today’s male, and who play an important part in the organising of International campaigns to achieve these goals.
 
First up we speak with Rob Treharne, who speaks on behalf of the Movember Australia campaign. Each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces in Australia and around the world, with the sole aim of raising vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and depression in men.
 
Next we speak with Sue Price, Men’s Rights Agency, whose untiring efforts in support of men, is well known around the world. Sue speaks enthusiastically, about the upcoming International Mens Day campaign, which will be celebrated in an ever growing number of countries around the world, on the 19th of November.
 
We end the show with an informative interview with Uma Challa, AIMWA, who heads the Indian team, which will spearhead the International Men’s Day campaign in India. Uma is an Anthropologist and Biologist by training, and has been an activist in support of Men’s rights for 5 yrs. She fights against the misuse of protections and privileges granted to women, and has worked hard to achieve true equality under law for both men and women of India.

Uma is also the founder of the All India Forgotten Women’s Association (AIFWA), All India Men’s Welfare Association (AIMWA), and the Andhra Pradesh Mothers-in-law Protection Association (APMPA). She is currently the President of both, AIFWA and AIMWA.

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Tuesday
Oct262010

Promoting Gender And Race Equality

With Special Guests:

  • Dr. Warren Farrell and
  • Lee-Anne Smith.
At a time when changing slogans and spin, bombard us at an incredible rate, it is difficult to keep up with what is propaganda and what is real. Just to name a few examples of a growing list of deceptive, manipulative blurring of the facts, to which the community is exposed daily, consider the following.
Global Warming has become Climate Change, Equal Rights for Women, has become Women’s Rights, Domestic Violence has turned into Violence Against Women, conveniently ignoring the fact that at least one third of the victims are Men.
 
Equal Pay For Equal Work, has morphed into Equal Pay For Women, never mind that women often work less hours, thereby earning less pay. Never mind also, that it is already illegal to pay someone less pay for the same hours worked, doing the same work, on the basis of age,race or gender.
 
It is refreshing therefore, to listen to the genuine and informed, as they speak passionately about real gender and racial equality. No sloganeering here, just the facts and a passion to promote equality. This week we speak with two such people, who represent the genuine article, and present a well balanced enthusiasm for their cause. 
 
Our first guest is Dr Warren Farrell, The Myth of Male Power, who’s understanding of both sexes is symbolized by his being, on the one hand, on the boards of four national men’s organizations, and on the other hand, being the only man in the US to be elected three times to the Board of Directors of the National Organization for Women in New York City.  Similarly, he has started over 600 men’s and women’s groups, and over 200,000 women and men have attended his workshops worldwide.  
 
Dr. Warren Farrell began his research on gender issues in the ‘60s.  His first book, The Liberated Man, was published in 1974.  It was from the women’s perspective and the feminist perspective.  By the ‘80s, he began noticing that men were feeling misrepresented, and his award-winning national best-seller, Why Men Are The Way They Are, was written to answer women’s questions about men in a way that rings true for men.  
 
Our second guest is Lee-Anne Smith, of the Halo Leadership Agency. Halo is a non-profit incorporated, career and personal development agency, advancing Hopes, Aspirations and Leadership Opportunities for young people. The agency listens to the needs of young people, providing advocacy, programmes, peer mentoring and networking opportunities, that enable individuals to discover who they are, design their own futures and make a difference in their communities.

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Tuesday
Oct192010

The Recognition Of Parental Alienation

With Special guests:

  • Dr. Glenn Ross Caddy and
  • Prof. William Bernet, MD.

Incredibly, there are still those who believe the earth is flat, and others who are adamant that the holocaust never took place. These delusional skeptics are joined by those who are still in denial about the existence of Parental Alienation. 

Despite the availability of a mountain of documented evidence, in the form of peer reviewed academic research, a host of books and articles, as well as numerous court documents and victim accounts, there are still those who refuse to accept, that indoctrination of millions of vulnerable children, could possibly be taking place. 
 
The only conclusion that can be drawn from such delusional reasoning, so dangerous to our children’s well being, is that many of these so called ‘experts’, are either terribly incompetent or highly motivated to protect their lucrative source of income, which is derived from their involvement with the Family Justice Industry.
 
Today we speak with two academic experts on Parental Alienation, who live in the real world, and who share the disbelief that this form of child abuse is still not more widely acknowledged.

First up we speak with Australian Clinical and Forensic Psychologist Dr. Glenn Ross Caddy, who explains the pathology of Parental Alienation. Dr Ross Caddy describes in detail the terrible consequences of such child abuse, and how it negatively impacts not only the child, but also many other extended family members.
 
Our second guest is Professor William Bernet M.D, who is Professor of Psychiatry at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, USA.  Dr. Bernet has been a member of the faculty since 1992, and is the director of Vanderbilt Forensic Services, the program that applies psychiatric expertise to legal situations.  Professor Bernet’s research provides valuable insight into the Parental Alienation Syndrome, and his work and efforts for better recognition of this phenomenon is to be applauded. 
 
The many parents and children who have had this unwanted abuse inflicted upon them, are well advised to listen to the interviews with these highly respected experts, and perhaps find some understanding and solace, for their undoubted emotional torment at having been forcibly separated from those they love most.

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Tuesday
Oct122010

Celebrating A Decade Of Dads On The Air

With special guests:

  • Dr. Stephen Baskerville
  • Sue Price
  • Geoffrey Greene
  • Barry Williams
  • Warwick Marsh
  • John Flannagan and
  • Tony Miller.
In a remarkable show of solidarity and a sign that hope can defeat despair, a determined group of fathers and supporters gathered at Sydney radio station 2GLF this week, to celebrate 10 years of Dads On The Air. Both past and present members of the DOTA team came from far and wide, and proudly renewed a steadfast resolve to continue with their mission, to expose the immoral practices of an atrocious family justice industry, made possible by appallingly ineffective Family Law legislation.     

As they stood around the studio kitchen table, focused on a birthday cake, singing happy birthday DOTA, these traumatized Dads resembled a group of returned soldiers who, having been highly traumatized by the ravages of war, are in the process of rebuilding their lives. Their common bond was forged by the trauma suffered at the loss of access to their children, which has been forced upon them against their will, by a number of Government agencies.  

Successive Governments continue to inflict this trauma upon their citizenry, by persisting with the protection of the child removal industry, rather then protecting the family bonds of their constituents. For many years now, Governments of all persuasions have allowed their social policy platforms to be hijacked by a corrupt and inhumane anti-family, anti-male, Family Justice Industry, which is removing children from families in ever increasing numbers, leaving every family vulnerable to the destructive ravishes of this Industry.  

But what is now the world’s longest running radio program dealing with Men and Father issues, Dads On The Air, will continue to expose and broadcast to the world, the excesses of these crimes against humanity.  

Members of the DOTA team in the studio, were co-founders of DOTA, respected journalist John Stapleton, retired Police Detective Rick Torning [Uncle Buck], and former police officer Rod Hardwick, other team members present were, Author and Musician Ian Purdie, Musician and Entertainer Peter van de Voorde, Co-ordinator of Dads in Distress Phillip York, Researcher with Men’s Health Australia Greg Andresen, Lawyer and Mediator Bill Kable.

They were joined on air by a number of other leading advocates calling for urgent changes to Family Justice legislation, from both Australia and overseas, all of whom are united in purpose and working hard to inform Governments, that they are failing in their duty of care to protect the bonds of parent/child relationships Internationally.   

Our first guest was celebrated American Author and Assistant Professor of Political Science, Dr.Stephen Baskerville, ‘Taken Into Custody’ , followed by Sue Price, Men’s Rights Agency, Geoffrey Greene, former federal director Shared Parenting Council of Australia, Barry Williams, President, Lone Fathers Association, Australia, Warwick Marsh, Fatherhood Foundation, John Flannagan, Non Custodial Parents Party, and Tony Miller, Order of Australia Medal recipient, and founder of Dads in Distress.   

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Tuesday
Aug032010

A Vision Of Justice

With special guests:

  • David Dufour and

  • Coral Slattery.
                                                                                

An interesting program this week, where we discuss just some of the many issues facing Men and Fathers in 2010. First up we speak with American film maker David Dufour, Mediadads, who recently came out to Australia, to record material for a documentary he is making, about what it means to be male in 2010. Now back in America, he speaks about the interesting experiences of his journey.  

An organization of volunteers that has put an immense effort, into providing a continuous supply of updated information regarding the many ramifications of poor Family Law legislation in Australia, is the Family Law Reform Association.   

We speak with the secretary of this worthy organization Coral Slattery, and discuss some of the issues facing fathers. In particular the way the education system deals with the sensitive problems facing fathers, when they attempt to obtain access to their childrens’ educational progress.

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Tuesday
Jul132010

Research, Stress, and Contentment

With special guests:

  • Dr. Bruce Smyth

  • Graeme Campbell and

  • John Stapleton.                                                                              

A diversity of subject matter is covered in the topics of this week’s show. We commence the program with an interesting interview with Dr Bruce Smyth, who is Adjunct Associate Professor at the School of Public Health, La Trobe University.  

Dr Smyth has previously worked at the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) as a Senior Research Fellow. He was also a member of the Ministerial Task Force on Child Support.  

Today he speaks candidly about some of the areas of research and number crunching he has been involved with, in relation to the gathering of statistics on the impacts of Australian Family Laws, on various vulnerable sections of the community.  

Next we speak with Graeme Campbell, a spokesman for the group  SRL- R [Self Representing Litigants - Resources].  SRL-R is a support organisation for those who by choice or necessity, have decided to represent themselves in either the Family Court of Australia or the Federal Magistrates Court in Children’s matters.  

Unless you are familiar with the Family Court environment, representing yourself in this Court will be one of the most stressful experiences you will ever encounter. Especially since those finding themselves in such unfortunate position, generally are already deeply traumatized, due to a number of the nasty side effects of the breakup of their family.   

Last but certainly not least, we speak to John Stapleton, the founder of Dads on the Air, and for many years the regular on-air presenter of our weekly program. John co-founded the program more than 10 years ago, and with his journalistic experience was the driving force behind the success of the program.  

John is a respected journalist of many years standing, who has worked for several of the leading newspapers of Australia. Now residing in Thailand, he sounds like he has discovered his Utopia in the middle of Asia.  

A true gentleman himself, John loves the gentle nature of the Thai population and the way families are valued. Compared to the individualistic nature of our own, dog eat dog culture, he certainly sounds contented and very much attracted to the Thai way of life.   

We very much enjoyed speaking with John, especially listening to the beautiful way he weaves his words  and sentences together, to present a wonderful picture in the mind of the listener. We certainly miss the creative journalistic skills he contributed to the program during those many years. 

Most unlike John, he ran out of phone credit in the middle of the interview, so we hope to hear from him again as soon as he obtains a re-charge.  

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Tuesday
Jun292010

Winner Take All

With special guests:

  • Molly Murphy
  • Andrea Hayward and
  • Robin Inslay.

Much has already been written about an appalling family justice system, which continues to wreak catastrophic havoc to the parent/child relationships of separating families. Molly Murphy, “Winner Take All”, who hails from Canada, decided to add her voice to the growing International chorus of authors and professionals, who have decided they can no longer stand by and watch our families and communities implode.

Her new book “Winner Take All”, provides a graphic account of the way separated parents are treated by our family justice system, and how the system fails to provide social justice equally. Molly joins us, to speak of how she came to write her book, and explains the urgent need for major changes, if our family bonds are to survive.

Molly Murphy is a registered nurse with a specialized designation in psychiatry having more than twenty years’ experience in the health-care field. She resides in Ontario with her three daughters and divides her time between her two passions. Her number one priority is family and her second is to help change family law so that the rights of both the custodial and non-custodial parents are valued equally by our judicial system.

Currently it is the father who is forced into accepting the role as the non-custodial parent to their own children in the majority of cases. By advocating, Molly hopes to one day see law reforms come into effect that truly reflect the best interests of our children. She also wants to create awareness through her writing concerning the dysfunction and discrimination that exists globally today within the family law system.

Our next guest is Andrea Hayward, who is director of DNA QLD, and who was recently asked to speak at the Lone Father’s Conference in Canberra.  Andrea outlines the procedures of a DNA paternity test and the Australian position on testing .

DNA QLD is a NATA/ISO accredited specialist Paternity testing facility offering quality world-class testing and client care. DNA QLD is focused solely on parentage testing and genotyping, unlike some other parentage testing facilities which also test for genetic syndromes. DNA QLD has a proven capability to facilitate testing for clients located in any state of Australia and in international locations such as Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and PNG. DNA QLD does not outsource testing to other laboratories and all our cases are processed in Brisbane. DNA QLD has a free collection centre in the Brisbane CBD.

Our final guest is Robin Inslay, who is the President of the ‘Lone Fathers Rockhampton Branch’, and he joins us to provide a roundup of the National conference held in Canberra. Their website tells the story.

The Rockhampton branch of LFAA came about from a call by concerned Central Queensland residents to do something about the damaging effects of divorce. Our branch is honoured, as do all other LFAA branches, to have a membership of many women as well as men. These women are the second wives, grandmothers, daughters, step-daughters; even the sisters of divorced fathers; and are very vocal about the many issues relating to fatherlessness in our society, today.

Our branch offers support to individuals from Yeppoon to Blackwater, Gladstone to St. Lawrence; an area which encompasses a large section of the Bowen basin mining region. We offer support and education on issues relating to family breakdown/divorce and take suggestions for submission to Government for change to relevant legislation.

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Tuesday
Jun152010

Divorce Poison

With special guest:

  • Dr. Richard Warshak.

An emotive subject that affects so many separated non-custodial parents and their victim children, is the issue of Parental Alienation. The existence of PA is still denied by a number of skeptics, who belong to the same group of the ignorant amongst us, who still insist the world is flat, or deny the holocaust took place.

But thankfully most thinking and informed people, are well aware of the dangerous existence of the human ability, to indoctrinate those who are in our control and powerless to escape our absolute power and control over them. It happens in many other settings as well, but is very prevalent in the area of parental separation, where it has been given the name Parental Alienation Syndrome.

Our guest this week is Dr. Richard Warshak, who is an American expert on the subject, and who’s book Divorce Poison, is an excellent resource for those assisting others, who are dealing with this frightening and very damaging phenomenon.

Dr. Richard Warshak is convinced that a passive approach just leaves parents feeling helpless. And the damage to children is considerable, particularly when warring parents enlist children as allies in the battle.

The problems range from tainted parent-child relationships, in which children are disrespectful or reluctant to show their affection, to a disturbance in which children virtually disown one of their parents and all the relatives on that side of the family. He warns  “If you handle the situation ineffectively, you could lose your children’s respect, their affections—even, in extreme cases, lose contact with them”.

Dr Warshak also speaks about his new DVD ‘Welcome Back Pluto’, which helps children cope with their family problems. This professionally-produced DVD is designed to help children and teenagers see family problems from another perspective and avoid taking sides with one parent against the other. The program helps children empathize with the suffering of rejected parents and understand their favored parent’s perspective, and motivates children to restore positive relationships.

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Tuesday
May252010

Alienated Parents Raise Public Awareness

With special guest:

  • Debra Cook.

More and more parents are being forcibly separated from their children, with the overt and covert assistance and blessing of a number of government agencies. It is therefore not surprising to see desperate parents taking desperate steps in order to raise awareness in the community, of what can happen to unsuspecting separating parents and their children.

One such parent is Debra Cook [Alienated Parents Australia], an alienated mother who has learned first hand, how our current family laws allow a vindictive ex partner, either male or female, to remove the children from the life of the other parent with terrifying speed, through a process commonly known as ‘Parental Alienation Syndrome’.

An unbelievably damaging and inept Family Justice System, allows such a malicious parent to psychologically and physically kidnap the children with absolute impunity. The sole parent custody model, provides the perfect setting for these dysfunctional parents to indoctrinate their children with a false perception of reality, causing them to turn against a loving, caring and protective other parent, who is desperately trying to help them.

Debra, who is an artist, recently held a public exhibition of her work, which centered on her personal experience in dealing with the forced loss of a relationship with two of her children.

Dads on the Air were there to record the views of some of those visiting the exhibition, and it was encouraging to see the level of community support Debra is receiving for her efforts in raising public awareness to these human rights abuses of so many of our children..

Another such parent is Ken Thompson, who is also a victim of a Family Justice System, which considers it in the best interest of a child to be left in the care of the most dysfunctional of their parents. Ken is currently riding a bicycle around Europe in order to search for his kidnapped son Andrew and to raise community awareness to the issue of international parental kidnapping.

What is often overlooked is the fact that to kidnap a child, you need not cross international borders for it to be defined as kidnapping. There are millions of children in the world today, who are kidnapped and held hostage by one of their own parents, who may live just around the corner from the other parent.

These kidnapping parents refuse to comply with court orders and are therefore engaging in a criminal act. However a hopelessly inadequate Family Justice System turns a blind eye to such criminal behaviour, and by so doing rewards the offending parent for their appalling and illegal behaviour.

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Tuesday
May182010

The Search For Andrew

With special guests:

  • Ken Thompson and
  • Gary Bryant.

The pain of loosing your child never goes away, and it is a perfectly natural human reaction, that no stone is left unturned, in the desperate search to restore the most precious bond of all, the biological parent/child relationship.

Today we speak with one such parent who is doing just that, the Deputy Fire Commissioner of NSW, Ken Thompson, who has taken a very pro-active approach, in his never ending search for his much loved son Andrew.  

Ken has started an extensive bicycle journey around Europe, in order to draw attention to, not only his own dilemma, but also to the demise of so  many other children around the world who have been kidnapped and are held hostage, by the most dysfunctional of their parents.     

Next we speak with Gary Bryant of the ‘Men’s Advisory Network’ on the findings of a West Australian study into the prevalence of Domestic Violence and Intimate partner abuse of men. This is considered an important research project, commissioned by the Men’s Advisory Network (MAN), supported by a research grant from Lotterywest and executed by researchers of Edith Cowan University.

While the findings of these independent research projects continue to show a high level of female to male and female to child abuse and violence, state and federal governments around the world continue to ignore these findings. The outcome of such ignorance by our elected representatives, has resulted in the formulation of hopelessly inadequate Domestic Violence laws and regulations.   

The most commonly used weapon at the disposal of separating parents, is the use and/or threats of, false allegation of violence and abuse, made possible by badly flawed state laws, which allow one parent to separate the other parent from his/her children and property.

They do so, safe in the knowledge they can take this course of action with absolute impunity. Once such a pre-emptive first strike has been made, the other parent is left at a total  disadvantage in the Family Justice System.     

Especially since the Family Courts, which act in the federal  jurisdiction, will generally rubber stamp the ‘established arrangement’, created using these highly questionable state DV laws. Currently domestic violence laws are administered by the states and their definitions vary greatly from state to state. One thing they have in common however, is that they are all  administered in the absence of any due process provisions.  

The outcome of these miscarriages of justice is such, that in many cases the unfortunate children end up in the care of the most dysfunctional of their parents. While at the same time the better parents are excluded from any further contact with their children. The Judiciary sleeps well at night, because they simply qualify their decisions as having been made ‘In The Best Interest Of The Children’.  

In so doing, and with no effective compliance provisions, the Family Court conveniently wipes their hands of any further responsibility, leaving thousands of vulnerable and powerless children to fend for themselves.

It begs the question of how much longer our communities will tolerate the indifference and total lack of concern shown by our elected representatives, as they ignore the plight of the nation’s most vulnerable children, who are struggling to survive the inhumane conditions our collective ignorance has placed them in.     

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