Rhondall Feeles is hoping that a forum between the judiciary and the Single Fathers Association in T&T (SFATT) this Friday will open the doors for non-custodial dads to be allowed more time with children. For the past three years, Feeles, who heads the association, has been knocking on the doors of the judiciary to raise one concern—that single fathers be granted more time with their child/children by the courts.
Finally they received a favourable response. Last week, Feeles said he got a call from an official in the judiciary who indicated that they will meet with the association. Both parties will form part of a Father’s Day consultation on June 19 at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope. They will be joined by the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Gender, Youth and Child Development, National Security Ministry, social workers and single fathers to discuss matters affecting single fathers and policies they can implement.
At the consultation, Feeles said he intends to raise the limited time fathers are allowed to spend with their children mandated by the courts. He would also address the issue of single fathers who do not benefit from social welfare for their children, while some single mothers are beneficiary to this funding.
SFATT was established in 2012 as an advocacy group in order to raise national awareness about children estranged from their fathers. The group has a registered membership of 1,800. He said as it stands, fathers are granted only four days—Friday to Sunday—every month with their child or children.
“What the court is saying that the child is deemed to be safe with the father for only four days of the month. The biggest obstacle we face is shared parenting. The courts need to grant fathers quality time with the children. This is what the judicial system and legislators need to deal with and introduce.”
Feeles said the consultation will bring a new ray of hope for his association and members. “The association is finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We are finally making a breakthrough. Just getting a response from the judiciary means that we are going somewhere,” Feeles said on Friday. “All is not lost.”
Feeles wants to level the playing field when it comes to child custody. “Fathers should be allowed to have their child or children 15 days of the month. Fathers should be able to shoulder half of the child’s responsibility the same way a mother would. A lot of fathers are not given equal opportunities with their children.”
The challenges single fathers face, Feeles said, are no different from those experienced by single mothers. Feeles said a child who grows up with a father becomes a more productive individual, while a child who is raised without a father tends to be defiant and rebellious. “Sometimes they end up turning into a criminal.”
He said children, especially boys, need to develop stronger bonds and meaningful relationships with their fathers, which was lacking in the country and causing young men to go down the wrong path. Feeles said while fatherlessness has had a devastating effect on society, single fathers are seen as lazy and deadbeat.
“Society does not respond to the social needs of men. They still views single fathers as a negative stigma and believe their role is only to pay child support.” He complained that single fathers often faced the courts without legal advice and counsel, which the association had been providing.
“There are a number of fathers who pay maintenance religiously but do not want to see their child, while there are fathers who want to see their child but are unemployed and can’t afford to pay the maintenance. This is the reality of the situation we are faced with.”