Social Justice: Think Twice
Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 10:30AM 
With Special Guests:
The NSW government is introducing a controversial new bill to remove the word “father” from birth certificates so as to recognise lesbian couples who have children through IVF. Fifty laws across NSW covering the Local Government Act, Industrial Relations Act and the constitution will be amended to include new parental presumption protection for female same-sex couples.
The bill equates the position of a lesbian partner of a woman who has a child after becoming pregnant by a fertilisation procedure, other than sexual intercourse, with the position of a married woman’s husband. Lesbian parents will see expressions such as “birth mother” replace “mother” and “both parents” to replace “the father and the mother” on birth certificates.
The moves have created a furore, exposing the anti-father anti-traditional family ideology of the left for what it really is: a full frontal assault on the role and importance of fathers,a betrayal of the working class men who voted for the government in the naive belief that they would stand up and support them.
There will be a meeting of many of the leading figures in the Australian fatherhood movement at the Theatrette inside the NSW Parliament House, Macquarie Street, Sydney. Next week we will be devoting our program to the debate, including live interviews from the gathering, which will run between 10.00 AM and 1.30 PM on Tuesday 3 June 2008. It is likely that the Bill will be voted on the next day.
Warwick and Alison Marsh from the Fatherhood Foundation, who are organising the meeting, writes:
“‘Father’ to go from Birth Certificate” is the headline of a story in the Herald Sun on 18th May 2008. The Same Sex Relationships Bill 2008 will radically alter 57 pieces of important legislation in a calculated attempt by the NSW Labor Government to discriminate against men, derogate fathers, fragment families and break the hearts of our children.
“Children need a mother and a father. To deprive them of that right by government regulation is callous and heartless. Legal advice has indicated that the proposed bill, as it affects Section 24 of the Anti-Discrimination Act (1977), could make the word ‘father’ discriminatory. Sadly this has already happened in California, USA after the passing of similar legislation.”
The Australian Family Association is campaigning against the change and we are pleased to have their spokeswoman Angela Conway on the program. “We oppose the change, it is part of the national and international picture of eroding the traditional family and the concept of a natural parent,” she said. “The social science evidence is pointing us in the other direction; that natural parents, both mothers and fathers, are vital to their children. It is going on all around the world. It is a particular agenda. It is designed to reconstruct families as being anything but mum, dad and the kids. Whether a bloke is homosexual or not, his fatherhood is important and being a father to that child is important.”
As part of the agenda to undermine men at every turn, the Australian government has gone into hyper-drive over the issue of domestic violence. Despite the most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics survey of intimate partner violence showing men are overall the subject of considerable more violence than women and often the victim of domestic violence, men are being entirely ignored in the latest push. The Rudd government has established a National Council to Reduce Violence Against Women which will be chaired by feminist advocate Libby Lloyd, a founder of the Australian white ribbon day campaign.
Minister for the Status of Women Tanya Plibersek, who is heading the campaign, is trumpeting the dubious and widely discredited claim that one in three women experience domestic violence - portraying Australian men as a bunch of bashers. Academics and lobbyists around the world have struggled to get common sense back into the debate. Anyone who tries to question the paradigm of men as patriarchal abusers and women as victims gets howled down. “No person should fear for their safety at home, at work, or on the street,” says Plibersek. Quite so. But why ignore male victims and why revert to outdated feminist models? A simple Google search on male victims of domestic violence throws up a wealth of material discrediting the hoary old chestnuts which are now being inflicted on the Australian populace. Studies around the world, including in Australia, have shown that domestic violence is a two way street.
In this context we are delighted to have domestic violence counsellor and expert Toni McLean on the show. She has had the courage and integrity to genuinely think outside the square when it comes to violent couples and the best way to promote healthy relationships.
From her website:
http://www.thinktwiceprogram.net
Toni McLean is the principal counsellor for the “Think Twice!” suite of services. Together with supportive and experienced group facilitators, she offers a complete range of options for individuals and couples experiencing difficulty in their relationships from normal conflict through to all forms of abuse, as well as physical violence.
Toni is an experienced counsellor and psychotherapist, with particular experience in the areas of relationship counselling; individual counselling; abuse and violence; trauma; anxiety and depression; and self-harming. Toni is also an experienced group facilitator and an accredited Myers Briggs Personality Type practitioner.
The combined experience of the Think Twice! team includes working with male and female groups in a domestic violence context, as well as with mixed groups in other contexts. We have led groups for private organisations, NGOs and government services. As lead facilitator, Toni has significant experience in working with victims of domestic violence and with those who are abusing in their relationships.
Toni and the team of facilitators are committed to:
- Working with clients in a supportive and collaborative manner
- Viewing each person and situation as unique
- Providing a respectful and non-judgemental environment in which people can construct their own solutions to achieve the changes they want to make
- Facilitating improved relationships and enhanced wellbeing for clients
- Ongoing professional development to maintain best practice
- Continuous program quality improvement
- Continually challenging their own ways of relating
- Advocating for non-violence in the community, and to living non-violently
In addition to working with couples experiencing normal conflict, Toni has also developed a framework, based on current best practice from around the world, for assessing the complexity of the violence in a relationship, in order to tailor the solution to the situation and the couple.
When working with a significant level of abuse or violence, Toni first works to establish safety and non-violence, before proceeding with a structured plan that addresses the needs of the couple and the relationship.
Traditionally in this area the only response to violence in relationships was to offer support, counselling and groups for victims and group programs for those who were abusing. Victim services were directed towards women and abuser programs were directed towards men.
Best practice now recognises that at least a significant minority of victims are men, a significant minority of abusing partners are women, and in some cases there is mutual violence. As well, not all violence is due to one partner wanting to dominate and control the other, as has been traditionally believed. The integrated approach offered by “Think Twice!” recognises and accommodates this broader perspective. In addition, working only with the offending person does not recognise any entrenched behaviour by the other partner which is contributing to the relationship dynamics. While this behaviour is not considered to be a legitimate cause for violence, it is in the interest of both partners to address any behaviours that are not conducive to having a strong, supportive, respectful relationship. Working with both partners, frequently in different ways, also helps to integrate the work done with the offending person into the relationship. Careful structuring of individual and couple sessions, and also group programs, as appropriate, facilitates the best possible outcome for the couple.
We close the show with the ever entertaining Richar’ Farr, a leading figurehead in the international fatherhood movement. He is the founder of KRights Radio and the nationally syndicated program The Message.
Here is a summary of the history of the show from
www.krightsradio.com
Richard Farr describes his new Internet radio station as “a town hall meeting on radio.” He calls it Kids’ Rights Radio - KRights for short. Farr is the KRightsRadio.com founder and main on-air commentator. The unique station began its unusual and compelling broadcast on Aug 1, 2004, and is now on the air 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
“This is an exciting and historic event for fatherhood, children, and the family rights movement. It’s a great leap forward. For years, noncustodial parents and their extended families have not been able to easily tell their stories in the media. On Aug. 1, 2004 this all changed. Now, we can start organizing the approximately 14 million noncustodial parents and their families into a huge listenership,” said Farr.
KRightsRadio.com offers unique programming: fresh up-to-date reports, interviews, breaking news, and commentary on marriage, divorce, family, child support, paternity fraud, child custody, “visitation,” parents - anything relevant. One of Farr’s goals is to increase general public awareness of pervasive damaging stereotypes and policies that have led to adverse consequences for families and fatherhood, and therefore for taxpayers and society as a whole. Farr envisions KRightsRadio as an instrument for positive change.
Why a station devoted to children’s and family rights?
Farr says, “There is a huge hunger and need for this. We’re tapping into new territory.” Farr added, “We anticipate a swift and tremendous reach. People in general will be fascinated with the surprising truths and astonishing stories that many will hear for the very first time. What is happening daily to good families is simply mind-boggling. Too many noncustodial parents, mostly fathers, are dead bolted, unfairly locked out of their children’s lives. They need somewhere to air their grievances and work for positive change.”
According to Farr, KRightsRadio.com’s unique, and sometimes controversial, fresh programming is aimed to counterbalance a negative view of men and fathers that has become prevalent throughout our culture and society. He would also like policymakers and family experts to tune in. “Too many families and children are suffering under unfair policies that stand today. We’re going to expose the injustices,” says Farr.
Experts and scholars in the field, including attorneys, psychologists, researchers, activists, and others are being interviewed for the broadcast. Farr plans to interview celebrities and media correspondents covering issues of interest to KRightsRadio’s target audience.
On KrightsRadio.com you’ll hear stories like that of Texas dad, Morgan Wise, who was featured in a New York Times article and was interviewed on Fox News Channel’s, “The O’Reilly Factor.” After many years, Morgan Wise discovered that 3 of 4 of his beloved children were not his biologically. Amazingly, at one point, a family court judge issued an order preventing Morgan from visiting his children, including even his biological child, while enforcing a court order for child support.
“Not only are we hoping to be an information clearinghouse and become a voice for families, we are hoping to become a useful tool for grassroots activism and unity of effort. I’m starting a list of listeners - I call it a ‘constituency list.’ We know there are millions of us out here. Now we’re going to prove it,” said Farr.
“The potential reach of this station is tremendous. There is a hunger for this information and for custodial and noncustodial families suffering in the family courts and child support agencies to have a voice. KRightsRadio.com fills a niche, and I expect it will continue to grow very rapidly. Farr has a major success on his hands,” said news commentator Roger Crition.