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Jepter Lorde
Kelvin Quintyne
Language: Argument FOUN 1002
20th November 2015
The Treatment of Fathers
INTRODUCTION
When discrimination against fathers is as prevalent as it is within family law courts it is
surprising to hear of an opposing assertion made in defense of the system. An academic study of
nearly two hundred child custody cases dated 2011 by the University of Warwick and the
University of Reading has concluded that men are not unfairly represented in family courts and
are just as likely to have contact applications approved as women. This reasoned thesis in the
opinion of this paper reflects a court system that, to a large extent, is making the effort to reverse
the stereotypical inaccuracies that has dogged past judgments (against fathers) in the area of
family law.
BACKGROUND
It is often easy for the media, in an attempt to grab the headlines, to dwell on what is past
and miss what is current. Many people read headlines, such as Court system anti-father or
Men treated unfairly by courts as being the entire truth. There is no doubt instances of
discrimination cannot be discounted after all the continued headlines speak to a problem, albeit
late in reporting and late in updating, but few ever look at the actual research because it is easier

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to allow a rapacious mass communication industry to critically think on our behalf according to
(Thompson 88)
THE RESEARCH
The default position of the court is not always in favour of the mother. According to
(Harding and Newnham 11):
In 96 per cent of cases, the parents who apply to the court for access are men.In just
under half of these cases, dads will win the right to have their children stay with them
overnight, with the most common arrangement being every other weekend. 10 per cent
restricted to indirect contact with their children via phone.
Lead researcher Dr Maebh Harding, looked at this data and concluded that contact applications
by fathers were in fact overwhelmingly successful. The paper concedes results are not perfect; it
could be argued that a parent neither trusted to be alone with their child, nor allowed to wake up
in the same house as them could not be part of the overwhelming success declared by the
research. It is apparent from the survey that some fathers are limited in access with no access
granted in some instances. While this is cause for concern the paper indicates clear signs of
positive change within the family law court a commendable position reflective of the position
that men are not unfairly represented in family courts.
THE LAW
Maintenance is often a contentious issue as it relates to custody. This once contentious
issue has seen changes to the parent who pays as well as how much is paid by the parent. The
family law act has made provisions for a means test to be done in each situation in an effort to

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maintain equity among the parties. (The Magistrate Act, CAP 116A ss. 104-105) speaks to
welfare intervention so as to assess the ability of each party to provide for the ward. Further to
this the court can be petitioned to reduce or even suspend payments in case of undue hardships or
job loss. The amendment to the Act relieves the pressure on father by ensuring that the economic
cost is not seen as a burden resulting in resentment to the child and more importantly fathers are
not treated as criminals if the debt goes unpaid. While this option of incarceration is still
available, legislators have made attempts to mitigate through amendment making it
(incarceration) a last resort. It is clear that the effort is being made by the family court to improve
the opportunities for fathers to participate in a meaningful way in the care and control of their
children.
THE TEST
What if, in an imperfect family law system, the father is bought before the court by the
mother, fails to get custody and is ordered to pay economic cost until the age of majority of the
child further to this imagine the father is not the father. Mothers placing multiple fathers before
multiple Magistrate courts in multiple jurisdictions in an effort to secure multiple payments
which can amount to thousands of dollars monthly exacerbates an already tenuous position for
fathers while reflecting poorly on a judicial system charged with the responsibility of dispensing
justice and protecting members of the society from exploitation (in this case fathers). A solution
has been found by the courts through DNA testing and is facilitated through the amendment to
the Magistrate Act which through the means can access the test to confirm paternity. This once
asymmetric approach has been the worst kept secret of the family law system but of late change
has afforded more equitable treatment to fathers within the family law system.

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REBUTTAL
The law has produced outcomes for women not out of any asymmetrical position but out
of an abundance of caution. Maternity leave has been the sole purview of the mother and justly
so given the importance of the individual to the child. The position taken by the legal system
cannot be seen as discriminatory with regard to the status of fathers in this regard given the fact
that women carry the child for nine months. The aforementioned obviously has a biological truth
which has to be reflected in the promulgation of laws to that effect. While accepted as an
undisputable fact concern has been raised on this issue by Mellor and Fisher in the Times
newspaper dated 30 May 2005 explaining the following:
Transferable maternal leave threatens to reinforce that outdated stereotype of parenthood;
because the leave belongs to the mother the Government should make paid leave,
beyond the first six months currently available to the mother, truly shared. The leave
should belong equally to both parents shared parental leave.
To a large extent Mellor and Fisher are correct, the presumption in Barbados is one of mother
knows best given the biological argument. The primary parent is (nearly always the mother) and
a secondary parent is (nearly always the father). The family law cannot in this sense be seen as
acting asymmetrically but acting to ensure entrenched socioeconomic dynamics of the woman as
dependent is dispelled while affording the father equity of responsibility.
CONCLUSION
The work of University of Warwick and the University of Reading is invaluable in
offering some statistical analysis of the problem that for the most part has been argued
qualitatively. This type of research can complement the work done by the family courts in

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applying the rules fairly through the relevant laws. While these are important points the main
issue for fathers is the presumption of responsibility without proof and the rules that shape
family law in Barbados to a large extent affords fairness and equality through DNA testing
reducing the bias against men. Overall the importance of women and the importance of their
contribution is not diminished what is of importance is the elevated status of men and the
possibility of meaningful contributions made to the care and control of their children. Clearly the
improvements within the family could not have been achieved without the sustained approach by
the family law courts to ensure men are not unfairly represented in family courts and are just as
likely to have contact applications approved as women.

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WORKS CITED
Harding, Maebh and Newnham, Annika. How do county courts share the care of children
between parents? : Full report. Coventry, UK: University of Warwick 2015. Print
Mellor J and Fisher D. Father and mother of all mistakes The Times, 30 May 2005: Print
Thompson, John B. The Media and Modernity: A Social Theory of the Media. Cambridge, U.K:
Polity Press, 1995. Print.
The Magistrates Courts Act, COM 1971, CAP 116A ss. 104-105