Madam, - The report in your edition of February 20th, based on research by Carol Coulter on behalf of the Court Service, paints a very benign, but misleading, picture of the family law system.
Because Carol Coulter's research found that 90 per cent of cases were settled outside court, your report may give the impression that these cases are settled amicably and fairly and that both parties can then get on with their lives in relative comfort. The truth behind the statistics is totally different.
We in Amen come across many men who settle such cases, but not because the settlement terms are fair or just. They agree to settle outside court because they know, or are left in no doubt by their legal teams, that they will suffer even greater injustices in court.
Whether negotiations on divorce or separation are conducted directly or through the mediation service they are overshadowed by the standards and practices of the courts. Men do not participate in such negotiations on an equal basis. They know that if the case goes to court they will lose their homes and most of their money and have their fatherhood severely diminished. Metaphorically speaking, they are negotiating with a gun to their heads.
It is fear of the anti-man practices of the courts, rather than any inherent fairness, that prompts the high settlement rate. As long as women have the power to apply to the courts to have men evicted from their homes for no justifiable reason and the court are legally obliged to accede to that request (section 10, Family Law Act, 1995), men will never be in a position to enter such negotiations on an equal basis. - Yours, etc,
FRANK McGLYNN, Amen, Railway Street, Navan, Co Meath.