Fathers 4 Justice
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fathers 4 Justice (or F4J) began as a fathers’ rights organisation in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom branch was temporarily disbanded in January 2006, following reports of an alleged plot by members to kidnap the son of then Prime Minister Tony Blair. Three months later, in May 2006, the group reformed and protested during the live broadcast of the BBC lottery show "The National Lottery: Jet Set".
Contents |
[edit] Origins
Fathers 4 Justice was founded by Matt O'Connor, a marketing consultant and father. O'Connor had become incensed with family law after a court barred him from seeing his young sons outside of a contact centre, following separation from his wife in 2000. On 17 December 2002, O'Connor and a small group of supporters staged their first protest by storming the Lord Chancellor's Office dressed as Father Christmas. In January 2003 O'Connor officially founded Fathers 4 Justice. Initially the group targeted the homes of family court judges and family lawyers' homes and offices with traditional protests.
From the onset, they championed the cause of equal parenting, family law reform and equal contact for divorced parents with children. F4J protestors interrupted the UK national lottery draw in May 2006. F4J is well-known for its campaigning techniques of dramatic protest stunts, usually dressed as comic book superheroes and frequently scaling public buildings, bridges and monuments. However, some members of F4J have a documented history of intimidating attacks on CAFCASS and court staff[citation needed].
On 21 October 2003, campaigners Eddie Gorecki and Jolly Stanesby scaled the Royal Courts of Justice, dressed respectively as Batman and Robin.[1] The following day, the group’s members rallied through London around a military tank in solidarity with Goreckwi and Stanesby.[2]
A significant escalation in the protesting style occurred nine days later when group member David Chick scaled a 120 feet (37 m) crane near Tower Bridge, London dressed as Spider-Man. The Metropolitan Police set up a cordon around the area that disrupted traffic through some of East London for several days.[3] Chick was subsequently cleared[4] and published a ghost-written autobiography in February 2006.
Fathers 4 Justice founded branches in the Netherlands and Canada in 2004, and in the USA and Italy during 2005.
[edit] Activities
The protest form that has most characterised Fathers 4 Justice has been its members dressing as comic book superheroes and other easily recognisable characters to scale public buildings and monuments. Stunts included supporters storming courts dressed in Father Christmas outfits, clapping the Government's ‘Children’s Minister’ in handcuffs, and most notably group member Jason Hatch climbing onto Buckingham Palace dressed as Batman.
F4J's campaigning policy has always been that its organised publicity stunts and protests should be humorous, non-violent, and ultimately harmless. The group advocated non-violent protests aiming to cause disruption rather than damage. The choice of the superhero costumes was based on the claim that "fathers have the role of superhero in the lives of children". Protests have not been restricted simply to fathers, as female supporters have adopted similar disguises and joined in the protests.
Protests of a similar nature occurred outside the United Kingdom, a protest by a member dressed as Robin the Boy Wonder was held for twelve hours on the Pattullo Bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. On 6 May 2005 the group made headlines again after a member dressed as Superman climbed up scaffolding in Old City Hall in Toronto, Ontario to unfurl a banner.
On May 20, 2006, a group of Fathers 4 Justice campaigners interrupted the broadcast of the UK National Lottery programme on BBC One, delaying it for a few minutes before the live draw was resumed.
On Sunday December 10, 2006 Fathers-4-Justice US staged a re-enactment of the Boston Tea Party, titled the 'Boston "Custo-Tea" Party' in protest at perceived corruption in the family court system in which lawyers provoke battles between parents over custody of children for profit.
On Sunday June 8, 2008 two fathers from Father's for Justice UK climbed onto the roof of Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman's house wearing superhero-style costumes.[1]
[edit] Flour bombing
On 19 May 2004, a major alert was caused when two members of the group threw purple flour bombs at Tony Blair during Prime Minister's Questions at the House of Commons.[5] This protest, along with a purple powder attack on the Liberal Democrat candidate in the 2004 Hartlepool by-election, Jody Dunn, appeared to signal a departure from the group's declared profession of nonviolence. Following the House of Commons incident The Times wrote that the group "has succeeded in becoming the most prominent guerrilla pressure group in Britain ... within eighteen months of its founding."
[edit] Internal strife
In November 2005, the group received negative publicity when the prime-time ITV programme Tonight With Trevor McDonald exposed some of its members as violent and obnoxious in their behaviour. However, it was claimed that these were never members in the first place and the program gave no right to reply. Some members were expelled but the organisation defended its position and attacked the documentary. On 23 November 2005, Fathers 4 Justice ended its truce with CAFCASS and the Child Support Agency, calling for a public inquiry into family law.
[edit] F4J temporarily disbands
During January 2006 the British newspaper The Sun published a story in which it claimed that members on the fringes of Fathers 4 Justice planned to kidnap Leo Blair, the young son of former Prime Minister Tony Blair 'for a few hours as a symbolic gesture'. The Police said that they were not aware of such a plan, but probably it had never got beyond 'the chattering stage'.[6] Downing Street refused to confirm or deny the existence of a plot as it does not comment on matters concerning the Prime Minister's children.
Fathers 4 Justice founder Matt O'Connor condemned the alleged action and threatened to shut down the campaign. Within days, Fathers 4 Justice had been disbanded.[7]
[edit] Reformation
On May 20, 2006, Fathers 4 Justice protested during the showing of the BBC lottery show "The National Lottery: Jet Set". The show had to be taken off-air for several minutes after six Fathers 4 Justice protesters ran from the audience onto the stage displaying posters.[8] The protesters were soon removed from the studio and the lottery draws continued as usual, albeit rushed so the show finished in time for the annual Eurovision Song Contest. A spokesman for the group stated afterwards, "Tonight marks the dramatic return of Fathers 4 Justice".
There was no widely publicised further action until 29 November of that year, when veteran campaigner Jonathan Stanesby climbed onto the roof of family court Judge David Tyzack's home, dressed as Santa Claus. The story was publicised after Stanesby claimed the judge was holding a shotgun. Judge Tyzack, however, retorted that he had taken the gun out thinking the noise on the roof was a bird.[9] Stanesby explained to reporters he was still restricted to seeing his daughter one weekend every two weeks.
[edit] Impact
Fathers 4 Justice's main impact remains upon media coverage and legal treatment of fathers' rights issues in the UK. The use of high-profile and disruptive stunts has garnered significant UK media coverage. Matt O'Connor has sold the rights to his story to Harbour Pictures, the firm behind the film "Calendar Girls"[citation needed]. It has been written by Shameless writer Danny Brocklehurst.
A significant, unintended result of the F4J campaign has been the exposure of flaws in security at high profile British institutions such as Buckingham Palace and the House of Commons, at a time when the British government is particularly concerned with the threat of terror attacks by al-Qaeda-affiliated groups.
[edit] Criticism
Critics of the organisation claim that the inequalities which F4J claim to fight against are exaggerated. The Guardian (May 8, 2006) claimed that some Father 4 Justice campaigners had "been denied access for good reasons".[10]
Members of the group are also alleged to have conducted a variety of intimidating attacks in order to terrorize court staff and family lawyers. These attacks include throwing purple (the group's colour) paint on the outside of CAFCASS buildings, pushing rotten meat/fish through letterboxes, sending fake bombs, hate mail and verbal abuse. NAPO (the union for CAFCASS staff) have compiled a file of the incidents. Fathers 4 Justice have admitted to incidents involving CAFCASS property but deny involvement in the harassment of individuals. During protests outside CAFCASS offices individual case workers were identified by name in a similar style to animal rights protesters.[11]
[edit] Fathers 4 Justice in Popular Culture
 |
Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Two costumed superheroes are mistaken for father's rights activists in the 2005 short comedy movie, Spider-Plant Man.
- A fathers' rights group seemingly satirising Fathers 4 Justice appears in Will Self's 2006 novel The Book of Dave. Members of the group, which is hijacked by extremists, end up swinging from London monuments dressed as statues of historical characters including Henry VIII, Thomas More and the Burghers of Calais.
[edit] See also
- Bob Geldof — fathers' rights leader and F4J supporter
- Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service
- Children
- Child Support Agency (CSA)
- Child custody
- Department for Constitutional Affairs
- Families Need Fathers
- Family
- Family law
- Fathers' rights
- Fathers' rights movement in the UK
- Parental alienation
- Parental alienation syndrome
- Parenting
- Parenting plan
- Pressure groups in the United Kingdom
- Shared parenting
[edit] References
- ^ Rooftop protest by 'caped crusaders' (HTML). BBC News (2003-10-21). Retrieved on 2006-06-03.
- ^ Rally over fathers' rights (HTML). BBC News (2003-10-22). Retrieved on 2006-06-03.
- ^ Spiderman cordon criticised (HTML). BBC News (2003-11-03). Retrieved on 2006-06-03.
- ^ "Spider-Man cleared after police tactics are revealed", The Times, May 15, 2004, p. Pg 5.
- ^ Blair hit during Commons protest (HTML). BBC News (2004-05-19). Retrieved on 2006-06-03.
- ^ Police aware of 'Leo kidnap plot' (HTML). BBC News (2006-01-18). Retrieved on 2006-06-03.
- ^ Fathers 4 Justice to end campaign (HTML). BBC News (2006-01-18). Retrieved on 2006-06-03.
- ^ Lottery show delayed by protest (HTML). BBC News (2006-05-20). Retrieved on 2006-05-20.
- ^ Luke Salkeld, Fathers rights rooftop protestor accuses judge of aiming gun, Daily Mail, November 28, 2006. Retrieved March 15, 2008.
- ^ Decca Aitkenhead. "The sins of the father" (HTML), The Guardian, 2006-05-08. Retrieved on 2006-06-07.
- ^ John Elliott and Abul Taher. "Fathers 'terrorise' lawyers" (HTML), The Sunday Times, 2004-11-22. Retrieved on 2006-06-04.
[edit] External links
[edit] In the news
- Lottery show delayed by protest
- Fathers' rights group scale abbey 13 April 2006
- Bob Geldof supports Fathers for Justice calling them heroic after critics attack their leadership. 27 May 2005
- Easter 2005 St Paul's Cathedral demo 25 March 2005
- Labour Party Conference demo 11 February 2005
- F4J founder nominated for 2004 Great Briton Award 24 January 2005
- BBC iCan: Fathers' rights July 12, 2004
