This website uses cookies. I do understand that this is a serious topic and that many people Whether it’s the ballet teacher talking about asking the “mums” for help at the summer show, school newsletters mentioning “mums” in the playground or Brownies asking “mums” for help sewing, barely a day passed when my apparent abnormality was not thrust upon me. If necessary, file a formal complaint against the mother for any and all failings. In fact, perceived bias against men in family courts has, in large part, provided the so-called “Men’s Rights Movement” with momentum. “Whilst it’s true that mothers were usually the primary care giver in contact applications, this was simply a reflection of the social reality that women are more likely to take on the role after a relationship breakdown,” author Dr Maebh Harding said. But any legal process is conducted by people, and people are biased – even sometimes those who professionally obliged not to be so. For years family lawyers have known it to be true: men get a raw deal when they divorce in this country. In fact, perceived bias against men in family courts has, in large part, provided the so-called “Men’s Rights Movement” with momentum. The research, by the universities of Warwick and Reading, found that on the contrary, contact applications by fathers were “overwhelmingly successful”. Working mothers face a ‘wall’ of bias—but there are ways to push back. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Gender Bias Task Force also uncovered substantial evidence of gender bias against mothers in family courts. In the UK, perhaps the most famous case of alleged judicial bias was the Pinochet case, after the House of Lords ruled in 1998 that the former Chilean dictator had no immunity from arrest and extradition for crimes against humanity. According to a new study, however, there is no evidence of any bias. A recent fathers' rights protest Claims that family courts are biased in favour of mothers have been rejected by top judge Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss. The argument that Men's Rights activists make doesn't hold water. A recent report based on research by the University of Warwick examined nearly 200 family law case files from 2011 to investigate whether the family courts in England and Wales have a gender bias against fathers. Is it #TimesUp for the family courts? There is contrasting evidence, however. And, not the reason many fathers aren't involved in their children's lives post … There was no way I wasn’t going to handle it all, and I did. But the source of the bias is not in the courts – it’s in the marriage. For legal advice on all issues to do with divorce or separation, please contact the family team at BLB Solicitors. By law, custody decisions are made purely based on what is best for the child. 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