Families Need Fathers raise awareness of losses of non-resident parent

On Sunday 26 February, the Exeter branch of Families need Fathers are screening a revolutionary documentary about the so-called ‘Men’s Rights Movement’ at The Exeter Phoenix Arts Centre.

Labelled ‘a backlash to feminism’, film-maker Cassie Jaye sets out to document the mysterious and polarizing world of the Men’s Rights Activists, or MRAs. After a year filming the leaders and followers within the movement, she learns the various ways men are disadvantaged and discriminated against.

The issues range from male victims of domestic violence, suicide and depression to the right to a family life and to share it with their children.

Families Need Fathers (FNF) is a national charity supporting parents and grandparents to have personal contact and meaningful relationships with children.  In the UK,  47% of fathers feel their role is not valued, and 3 out of 5 dads feel emotionally unsupported - despite 95% of UK adults saying fatherhood is important. Coined “the dad gap” by the CSJ, and the issues of “disposable dads” and  Parental Alienation covered in the film, affects every member of a family which loses contact with a child.

Speaking in the Telegraph about Parental Alienation, Anthony Douglas, the CEO of CAFCASS, recently described the relationship between parents and children “as powerful a public health issue as Smoking and Drinking”. CAFCASS also note that 80% of the difficult family cases in court are due to Parental Alienation. Research by  Dr Edward Kruk shows that 50,000 – 75,000 children could be affected each year. In the UK around one million children grow up with no contact with their father, and that children with absent fathers are also at an increased risk of depressive and psychiatric disorders. (In their ‘Fractured Families: Why Stability Matters’  Centre for Social Justice (CSJ),)

For many around the world this film has been too challenging to watch and it’s prompted many ill-informed discussions. Director Cassie Jaye says, “What I hope for the red pill is that it will inspire more dialogue about men’s issues and also help more people understand what the men’s rights platform is really all about.”

Film showing at Exeter Phoenix, 3.30pm Sunday 26th February 2017

Tickets are free and can be booked via the Exeter Phoenix website Box Office 01392 667080

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/379209875782026/