Austin Divorce Lawyer

The Fathers’ Rights Movement

The fathers’ rights movement in the United States and elsewhere is a civil rights and social reform movement whose goals center around the rights of male parents in family law cases. Members of the movement participate in both the political and public arenas to accomplish their goals, using both media exposure and lobbying efforts to communicate their message.

Fathers’ rights activists are typically men, though in recent years many women – particularly those who have experienced the existing family law system firsthand – have also joined the movement. They see the current family law system as flawed, biased, and discriminatory against men.

Arguments of the Fathers’ Rights Movement

Fathers’ rights activists take issue with several particular aspects of the family law system. They claim that the adversarial stance taken by courts is excessively expensive and time-consuming, and allows gender bias to thrive in the courtroom. They point to studies which show that mothers are more likely to be custodial parents than fathers as evidence of a judicial bias against men, and advocate reforms which would instruct courts to award equal custody of children whenever possible.

Proponents believe that men have a legal right to be a parent to their children, but are unfairly prevented from doing so by the discriminatory attitudes of family law judges.

Criticisms of the Fathers’ Rights Movement

Critics of the fathers’ rights movement allege that its members gloss over the issue of domestic abuse in an attempt to re-establish control over their children and spouses. They claim that a presumption of shared custody is harmful to children and is unfair to victims of domestic abuse. Furthermore, some have gone so far as to question the very motives of the fathers’ rights movement, pointing out that shared custody arrangements would likely result in a decrease in child support payments.

In response, fathers’ rights proponents point out that women are, according to some studies, as likely as men to engage in domestic violence, including child abuse, and that regarding men as the only perpetrators is a sexist and unconstitutional view.

For more information on issues facing the field of family law today, contact Austin divorce lawyers Slater & Kennon, LLP at 512-472-2431 today.


Centrally located in the Arboretum area of north Austin, the Slater & Kennon law firm represents clients in Travis County, Bastrop County, Burnet County, Williamson County, and Hays County, including the cities of Austin, San Marcos, Bastrop, Burnet, and Georgetown.