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Nov. 7 - Nov.14, 2004 |
Hunger Strike for Shared Parenting
Bill C-22 hostile to divorced fathers in Canada seeking to get custody of their children
By Susan MacDonald
Originally Published: 2003-03-09
These are crucial days for the future of many families; last week the Federal parliament voted on Bill C-22, a proposal amending the Divorce Law. However, many that have already gone through the pain of a separation and the gauntlet of the family courts are opposing in every possible way the new proposal. They are writing letters to the media, e-mailing their Federal representatives, organizing protests. One such person is Kristin Titus, who went on a hunger strike despite her 45 kilograms. Many consider Bill C-22 to be worse than the existing law, since it changes a few words but not the substance, i.e. it does not prescribe shared parenting.
According to several surveys, 80 percent of Canadians agree with the Parliamentary report For the Sake of Children, which said that allowing both parents to see their children even following a divorce was of paramount importance. But nothing changed since 1985. The law is still based on the idea that there are winners and losers, balances of power linked to how long one can stay with one's children and how much one can decide on their behalf.
This theory translates into two words: "custody" and "access." The person who's granted custody is the winner... Almost in every case, the loser is the father, ending up completely defeated at the moral, financial and psychological levels. In the last few years, suicides among men have increased, under the pressure of a malfunctioning judiciary system, uncivilized relations between ex spouses, and a society that keeps silent about these tragedies. This deafening silence continues even in front of the children, who suffer terribly and often lose their fathers forever.
In order to raise the awareness among Canadians about these tragedies, Kristin Titus, mother and stepmother of four children victimized by divorces, went on a hunger strike, but also on a "cold strike." She remained in front of Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, for nine hours, with a temperature of 25 below, risking hypothermia. She only accepted a mug of tea.
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