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The UK's leading Shared Parenting charity

FNF is the leading UK charity supporting dads, mums and grandparents to have personal contact and meaningful relationships with their children following parental separation.

We offer information, advice and support services helping parents to achieve a positive outcome for their children.

Our online Forum and our network of over 50 UK Branches also offer pro-bono guidance of solicitors and others familiar with the operation of the family courts.

Join FNF or register for free to receive our newsletters, surveys, research and more.  As a member, you can also access our Forum in which experienced volunteers, including solicitors and McKenzie Friends can answer your questions. 

Visit your nearest FNF Branch where meetings are run by experienced and knowledgeable Volunteers who want to help you.  Some of the more established branches run solicitors' clinics for the benefit of our members. 

We  have a telephone Helpline (0300 0300 363) which provides first-line support.

FNF membership costs less than a few minutes of a typical solicitor's time - and could save you a fortune by being better prepared for the choices ahead!  Find out more about free registration and joining or simply donate.  Your support is crucial in enabling us to sustain our mission working for parents and children who are being denied a loving relationship.

This is a testimonial email we received recently from a service user:

“I have a solicitor who charges ￡285 + VAT per hour. She's good but she is very expensive. FNF with its ￡39 membership fee has given me more practical advice and provided me with company of fellow fathers who are striving to achieve contact with their children against all odds. Something my solicitor can never offer. I have had 3-4 sittings and have had more practical advice than I have had from my solicitor (who is process driven and has no emotional connect) for last 6-8 months and I don't even want to mention how much I have paid her in this time. FNF has been amazing for me. I would recommend it to all fathers going through a divorce and wanting contact with their child/children. We are all in this together.”

 

Press Release: Increases in the Use of Non-Molestation Orders since Scrapping of Legal Aid

PRESS RELEASE

Monday 15th October 2018 00:01

Analysis: Huge Increases in the Use of Non-Molestation Orders since Scrapping of Legal Aid (LASPO)

Thousands misuse abuse orders to get Legal Aid
37% increase in 5 years since LASPO

 

Chances of being hit with a Non-Molestation Order depends on where you live

 

Children are denied good parents by bad court orders

 

The system needs new checks and balances
 to avoid abuse of innocent parties and children

 

The will of Parliament on bail conditions is being bypassed

 

FNF call on Family Courts and police to complete investigations
within three months and to deal firmly with bogus claims of violence

 

Families Need Fathers (FNF) is a national, UK shared parenting charity concerned with the welfare of children in the context of family separation. Changes in legislation over the last six years, designed to save money or protect people who have been subject to abuse have also had unintended consequences – ‘collateral damage’ harming or destroying healthy child-parent relationships and fuelling parental conflict.

Families Need Fathers has completed a review of trends in Non-Molestation Orders (NMOs or Non-Mols) usage. NMOs are injunctive Civil orders designed to protect anyone who has been abused from further abuse. Over 26,000 such orders are now issued annually. Following a period of decline in their use, there was a significant, immediate jump in their numbers following changes legislation in 2013 that scrapped Legal Aid in private family proceedings unless domestic violence is claimed (as opposed to shown) to have been involved. A further spike in their use has occurred since 2017 when legislation changes to increase scrutiny on the police when they wish to extend police bail without charges led to this back door approach being exploited to get around the scrutiny.

Since these legislative changes came into force NMOs have increased by 7,249 cases a year, an increase of 37%.

Read more ...

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  • A Sheriff in Scotland found that a father was prevented for a year from seeing his children, because of false allegations of rape compounded by damaging support service interventions. #BelieveMe needs to re replaced with timely investigation. Findings of Fact should take place within three months - even that is an age for a young child to be needlessly deprived of a loving and much loved parent. There also need to be consequences to the making of false allegations. Link to full transcript of judgement in second comment below. https://www.pressreader.com/uk/scottish-daily-mail/20181017/282149292282550 To support Families Need Fathers, please like and share our posts, follow us, register for free, become a member or make a donation.

  • Is Misogyny about to be Classified as a Hate Crime in UK Legislation? What about Misandry – or are men not Worth It? Last month, it was announced that a review by the Law Commission would look at whether offences driven by misogyny - dislike, contempt or ingrained prejudice against women - should be treated as hate crimes. And now it's emerged the same review will also consider the opposite - crimes motivated by misandry - hostility towards men. This is a potentially pivotal issue when the new matriarchy are pressing so hard in all walks of life for special treatment of women. We are living in a fair and egalitarian society in which men and women should expect to be offered equivalent support and protection under the law. Surely it’s a no-brainer to treat all gender hate crimes fairly, regardless of gender? Unless the law is fair and has effective checks and balances to avoid it being abused, it risks being used as a weapon by some parents with less than honourable motives. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45870948

  • False allegations are commonplace in family justice disputes and since legal aid changes in 2013 these have been encouraged by providing Legal Aid in family disputes to just one side when alleging domestic violence. Non-Molestation Orders have become the most favoured route to this and have gone up by 37% since. The figures were boosted by legislation in 2017 designed to stop thousands of people languishing on police bail for months or years without charge - as these orders have the same effect, but are easier to obtain. The Guardian's report on our analysis today. The full report can be downloaded from our website - (link in first comment posted). https://www.theguardian.com/law/2018/oct/15/parents-weaponising-domestic-violence-orders-claims-charity To support us, please share this, Tweet it, like it, comment, follow us, register for free, become a member or make donation.

  • FNF have advocated for more involvement of fathers with care of their children from day one, not least as it benefits children. New research at University of Manchester now demonstrates that fathers caring for babies alone also promotes relationship stability. Meanwhile, the Government rejected recommendations of the Select Committee for Women and Equalities to extend 'use-it-or-lose-it' paternity leave. State support for paternity leave is approximately 4% of that for maternity leave for parents on similar incomes. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/sep/30/hands-on-fathers-less-likely-to-break-up-with-partners-paternity-leave-childcare Please support FNF by sharing, liking, following, registering for free, becoming a member or making a donation.

  • Rogan Productions (who produced this Panorama episode) consulted us and visited our branches to gain an understanding of the situation. We haven’t yet seen the piece but we have already written to them with our concerns that judging by the description and title, the programme is being presented in a prejudicial manner and that the title will upset many vulnerable male victims. Their reply includes the following: “…thank you for sharing your thoughts, I completely understand why you feel that way. Perpetrator programmes predominantly focus on male perpetrators, and statistically there is a higher need in that regard, which is why we have had to present it in its reality for the programme. There aren’t any perpetrator programmes that exist solely for women – I believe there is one programme that operates through Skype. However we have included statistics regarding male victims to try and rectify the balance, and we do know this is an issue that affects both genders.” Our hope is that they have properly addressed not just the issues of the unexplainable and frankly prejudicial lack of appetite for programmes for women, but also the ongoing support for feminist attempts at painting men as un-reformable and even fundamentally given to being perpetrators of violence. More to the point their introduction doesn’t seem to mention the need for both parents to focus on the welfare of the children, rather than on attacking each other in the courts and in front of the children. Having said all that, they may be concentrating on wider issues of DV – outside the arena of children, separation and divorce. Either way, it will be interesting to see how they deal with the significant proportion of W on M violence and abuse. Let’s see what the film shows and we can take it up with the Beeb if necessary. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bn9yzg 8.30pm tonight. Support us by liking, sharing, following, registering for free, making a donation or becoming a member.

  • A tragic story for the family. A son killed and a falsely accused dad who died struggling to cope with what had happened and the allegations against him. False allegations destroy lives. Sadly they rarely get the attention they deserve and are far more common in the context of family separation. https://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/crime/heartbroken-family-of-freddie-stacey-make-emotional-plea-for-help-with-his-funeral-1-9384988 Please follow us and support our work on shared parenting and dealing with false allegations.


FNF HSSF Kite Mark Award

Families Need Fathers has been awarded the Help and Support for Separated Families Kite Mark which is a new UK government accreditation scheme for organisations offering help to separated families.

Families Need Fathers work with a range of family law professionals, including Family Law Panel

 

Upcoming Events

22/10/2018 Mon: London Central Meeting
23/10/2018 Tue: Harrow Branch Meetings
24/10/2018 Wed: Cambridge Meeting
25/10/2018 Thu: London East (Tower Hamlets)
25/10/2018 Thu: Exeter Meeting
27/10/2018 Sat: Harrow Branch Meetings
29/10/2018 Mon: Reading Meeting
1/11/2018 Thu: Solent Meeting
1/11/2018 Thu: Liverpool-Wirral Meeting
5/11/2018 Mon: London Central Solicitor's Clinic
5/11/2018 Mon: Edinburgh Meeting
5/11/2018 Mon: Northern Ireland Meeting
6/11/2018 Tue: Leeds Central Meeting
6/11/2018 Tue: Newcastle Meeting
6/11/2018 Tue: Northampton Meeting
6/11/2018 Tue: Oxford Meeting (check day with branch)
7/11/2018 Wed: Manchester Meeting
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