Society has progressed, supposedly, beyond the archaic roles that our parents generation clung to so firmly in terms of values and personal responsibilities. Today, people like to think of themselves as progressive in thoughts and actions, and it would be fair to access this would also be true of our legal system. In the case of parental responsibilities however, these roles while changing have not kept up with the times in terms of gender bias toward men’s rights in the areas of child custody, more specifically as applied to a Mother paying her fair share of child support. As is demonstrated in the media daily, it is still an unacceptable practice for a Father to skirt his financial responsibilities, but where is the outrage for dead beat Mothers?
In many localities, including the one in which I personally reside, it is a common practice to post "wanted posters" of dead beat parents in public places, in the hopes of pressuring them to support their children. Almost exclusively, every photograph on these posters are those of men who are either in the rears on child support payments or have totally shrugged their legal responsibility. While it is true that women gain custody of children more often than men in divorce proceedings, it is not reasonable to assume that every woman that does not get custody pays her child support debt in a timely fashion. Is it a fair assumption to think that because of this the legal system has a double standard in applying the full weight of the law when it comes to dead beat Mothers?
One needs to question the implementation of legal policy when it is considered appropriate to pursue a negligent Father, while an equally if not more irresponsible Mother exists unfettered by her legal obligations. It would appear as though society still holds true to the antiquated notion of feminine inferiority, and the need for protection of the "fairer sex" in matters that may be emotionally distressful or unpleasant. While this attitude may be generally considered gentlemanly behavior in a one-on-one interaction, it has no place in a supposedly unbiased and equitable application of public policy in law.
The public outrage over dead beat Fathers is correct in it’s call for the personal responsibilities of parenthood, no question there. It would only seem a just principle to apply the law with the same fervor to those Mothers with a less than honorable position on contributing to the care of their children. There would appear to be a clear need for a more balanced playing field so that a child receives the financial security they deserve.
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