Fathers on trial
Sir: It has been two years since my wife left me, after 14 years of marriage, taking my two daughters with her to set up home with a man she'd had a month-long affair with. Since then I have read many articles about family courts and how they treat fathers. Griffin Stone's (When your wife kidnaps your child', 24 August) was without a doubt the most powerful.
I won limited access to see my children, every other weekend and half the school holidays, but my ex only brings them when she feels like it. As I am self-employed and must cancel work when there is a hope that I may see my daughters, she knows that not showing up will hit me emotionally and financially. Friends and relatives can't understand why I don't take her back to court for breaching the order. In future I will show them Mr Stone's article to help them understand.
I am -allowed' to phone the children once a week, Wednesdays at six p.m. Often they are not there, When I call back later I am told I cannot speak to them as the court order says Wednesdays at six, If I dare protest, my wife threatens to call the police and report me for harassment. She holds all the cards, and any application for enforcement of the order is very likely to end in less contact, not more.
As Bob Geldof asked in his recent television interview, what did I do wrong for the state to shut me out? How come their mother can move any man into my daughters' lives without any question, and yet the 'system' perceives me as some sort of threat to my own flesh and blood?
Many children of this generation are growing up without the involvement of their father. This can only lead to further troubled relationships down the line.
I recently told my MP of how unfair family courts are. He told me the judiciary are doing a great job and wouldn't hear any criticism of family-court judges. I have forwarded your article to him in the hope that he, too, can see the error of his ways.
Name and address withheld
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