Society’s belief that children only need their mothers can be detrimental to children’s lives, says ChildWatch president Eddie Fisher.

“In this society it is seen that the mother is the best caregiver for the child but that simply isn’t always the case,” says the activist father, who was dealt his own blow when his wife left the Island and took their Bermudian children along with her.

“Mothers who use their children to get back at their spouses are actually abusing their children in my mind.”

ChildWatch advocates for the families of the children who have unwittingly been separated from their parents by attempting to change the laws and society’s views of the rights of single fathers.

“With the divorce rate at almost 50 percent and approximately 33 percent of children being born out of wedlock, that is a terrible amount of the population being raised without a father,” he continues.

The children in these situations or those children taken away from their father tend to look for a father figure elsewhere and often times turn to the wrong person. They, in turn, may cause them to become involved in dangerous or illegal activities, Mr. Fisher says.

And he points out that changes cannot happen until fathers come together and support each other.

“Men need to learn to stick together. They don’t network and they are always expecting a quick fix. “They don’t want to get involved in a group. But the power is in cohesiveness and togetherness to work for better lives for our children.”

Mr. Fisher says a lot of men will give up on their children because they become discouraged but until all men in these situations work together, nothing will change. Education is key, he continues, as well as getting involved with an advocacy group such as ChildWatch. In 2002 the Child Amendment Act was passed and was intended to be gender neutral and give fathers equal access to their children. “Unfortunately, the courts don’t seem to have taken any notice because the results appear to be the same,” Mr. Fisher says. “We still have fathers coming to us asking for help.”

If ChildWatch successfully changes child custody laws for the future then children will have equal access to both parents. If in the event that the parents do separate and cannot agree on care for the child, the matter will be sent to a panel of qualified people, thus taking child custody out of the hands of the court. “A child has not committed a crime when their parents divorce. Why the courts handle custody is beyond me.

“The lawyers are working for their parents’ interests not for the interest of the child involved,” Mr. Fisher says.

“This type of system that prevents a child from being part of both parents’ lives will go down in history as the single most destructive practice.” For more information about ChildWatch or to get involved call 234-2858 or e-mail childrenfirst@tbinet.bm.