Yet, there is no denying the fact that, in a majority of cases, both the parents are guided and motivated by a strong sense of bonding with their progeny and are genuinely concerned about its well-being, which is very natural and expected.
In an ideal scenario, it is only the parents who should have the sole right of taking important decisions regarding their children. However, in a bitterly contested divorce scenario, society and law do have the right to supersede this parental prerogative and exercise their authority and discretion in deciding upon the child custody issues. In this context, the law takes into consideration the first and foremost objective of considering and safeguarding the best interests of the child.
As per the available statistics, in the UK, in almost 80 percent of the cases, it is the mother who is awarded the child custody by a court. This has led to the hurling of bitter allegations by men’s rights groups and certain sections of the society that family courts are biased in favour of women. However, a fair analysis of the ground realities will somewhat nullify these aspersions.
It has commonly been observed that when a child is born in a family, most of the times it is the mother who volunteers to sacrifice her career to opt for childcare. This decision is guided by the financial logic that the parent with the lower wages should give up his or her job to take care of the child. Considering the fact that in our society, women tend to be underpaid as compared to men, it is mostly the mother who ends up sacrificing her career at the altar of parenthood. Hence, during divorce proceedings, the courts while taking into consideration the best interests of the child, mostly award the custody to the mother, who also happens to be the primary care-giver and is thus expected to be more sensitive to the needs and expectations of a child. Hence, in this battle between the wallet and the womb, the womb has won till now.
Under What Conditions may the Father be Assigned Child Custody?
In the modern British society, the biggest question before us is -- under what circumstances may the father be assigned child custody? There do exist certain genuine situations and instances where a father deserves to have custodial rights, such as:
1) In the last few decades, there has been a tremendous shift in the conventional male attitude and men have become more sensitive and responsible on the domestic front. Nowadays we do come across families where a father opted to give up his career to take care of children or played an active and vital role as a primary care-giver. In such instances, where the father actively contributed as a care-giver in the family, the courts should not be guided by traditional gender considerations and should consider the father to be deserving of custodial rights.
2) In a divorce suit involving children, if a court considers a child to be of appropriate age and mature enough to make valid emotional choices, the opinion of the child should be given due consideration while deciding upon child custody. If a child openly and assertively insists upon residing with the male parent after divorce, the court should have no hesitation in deciding custody in favour of the father, provided he has no other vital flaw or discrepancy that goes against this decision.
3) While deciding upon child custody, the psychological and physical health and integrity of the custodial parent are of prime importance in ensuring the well-being of a child. The best interests of a child will only be served if the custodial parent is mentally and physically fit enough to take care of him or her and has the relevant ethical credentials to act as a positive role model. Any debilitating discrepancy, flaw, addiction, criminal involvement, psychological instability or harmful compulsive behaviour on the part of a mother is a reason enough to deny her child custody. Examples of such instances where a mother may be denied custody are:
a) Substance abuse
b) Alcoholism
c) Irresponsible behaviour
d) Abandonment
e) Insanity
f) Involvement in instances of child abuse or child pornography
g) Criminal conviction
James Walsh is a freelance writer and copy editor. If you would like more information on how to get a quickie Divorce see http://www.quickie-divorce.com
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