Commentary
The absence of a father is a growing problem in the West.
For example, in the United States, there are 18 million children who live without a father at home. Thousands of fathers are unable to reunite with their children across Australia, and mediation sessions and divorce lawyers say they are unlikely to be in contact with their children overnight.
Some people may think that boys raised without a father will treat women better. In fact, the majority of male perpetrators of domestic violence are the product of what was once called a “broken house.” They were denied a meaningful relationship with their father and, as a result, denied their experience of masculinity.
Good fathers teach boys to direct their emotions and their unique masculine tendencies towards more productive activities. They play an important role in helping sons learn to respect authority, maintain discipline, develop self-control, and empathize with others.
All of these personality traits have been found to be lacking in violent adolescents, according to the U.S. Department of Education (pdf).
The father is also very important to the daughter and provides her with physical and emotional relief.
The US Department of Education states that daughters tend to feel “adorable” when they have a father and better understand their femininity.
As W. Bradford Wilcox, a professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, pointed out,
“The affection that a father gives to daughters reduces the likelihood that they will attract the attention of young men or be sexually involved with members of the opposite sex.
“As a result, girls raised in an intact family experience puberty at an early age, become sexually active before marriage, and are much less likely to become pregnant before marriage.”
High probability of sexual abuse in a fatherless home
Contrary to what mainstream media and politicians often suggest, the majority of cases of child sexual abuse occur in families without a biological father, according to at least 70 different studies. ..
Dr. Jeremy Samat, Researcher, Independent Research Center, Point out Girls living in non-traditional families were 6-7 times more likely to be sexually abused by their stepfathers or “cohabiting or casual partners” than their natural fathers.
Patrick Parkinson, a professor of family law and a former president of the International Family Law Society, said: Similar views Children in divorced families said they were at high risk of abuse and neglect.
“Girls in particular are at a much higher risk of sexual abuse from their mother’s new partner than their father. Single parents, especially those working to support their families, monitor and supervise their children. You’ll have less time. “
These findings do not mean that all stepfathers are potential abusers. However, such exceptions do not invalidate the general rule that only a small portion of child sexual abuse by biological fathers is committed.
Unfortunately, like the Australian Bureau of Statistics statistics, official statistics often have a mix of fathers and stepfathers, so it seems that incest as well as child abuse is more prevalent.
The system encourages divorce
But the fatherless crisis in Western society may not be just an accident.
For example, according to the Australian Family Association, the legislation supporting child support payments is a major factor in submitting to a parliamentary survey on child support programs.
In addition, the introduction of a “faultless” divorce system can be difficult to challenge even with the unilateral decision to divide the family, and the affectionate father may be reluctantly separated from his child. Means that there is. Child support payment systems affect this issue.
according to Stephen Baskerville, Professor of Sociology:
“Child support took the process one step further by allowing divorced mothers to now use their fatherless children to claim their husband’s income, and her negligence in breaking the marriage contract (” Or regardless of his lack of negligence). “
In addition, Professor Parkinson said that the child support system, developed in the late 1980s, is a “perverse incentive” to stop child support from spending more time with other parents in order to avoid a decline in child support. It states that it produced. Many nights a child spends with his father.
The father was struck hard by the collapse of his family
It is also worth noting that divorce is often the main reason behind a man’s suicide. When a marriage breaks down, men are more likely to commit suicide than women.
The situation is unhelpful when the family law system often favors divorced women.
This may explain the tragic fate of a loving father who hung himself after being denied access to his daughter because he could not afford to pay twice as much child support as takeaway.
In a letter signed “in memory of my beloved father,” his 14-year-old daughter wrote: Reaching out for her and taking his life was decided to be the only way to end his suffering. “
A recurring theme in divorce situations is that children often adapt better to divorce as they stay in touch with their parents.
and academic paper Written by Richard A. Warshak and approved by 110 major international experts, under normal circumstances, a child can be significantly better if they are in contact with their parents overnight. According to Barry Nurcombe, Professor Emeritus of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Queensland, the experts who signed this report are one of the best in the world in their respective fields.
As Professor Narcom Point outThis treatise emphasizes the fact that current policies tend to favor mothers regarding overnight contact decisions.
What is the best for kids?
These experts review Warren Farrell’s assessment, which he taught at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, as well as the psychology and women’s studies of Georgetown and Latgards.
Farrell cites extensive research on child development that links father involvement to important emotional and social benefits of the child. According to him, deprivation of his father is a major factor in the increase in mental illness, addiction and suicide in men.
In “Father and Son Reunion: How to Take the Father We Need to the Children We Love,” Farrell reduced the government, the media, and the legal system to all that matters to custody. Explain how the current Western approach is causing serious damage to children The role played by the father.
Thanks to his great efforts, Florida and Kentucky in the United States recently enacted legislation recognizing the important role of the father, especially in the case of divorce.
We can only expect more jurisdictions to be affected by his important work, including Australia.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.