A protest was held in Warsaw by fathers who want to maintain close contact with their children after divorce. They claim their rights are being ignored. Even if the court grants them the right to custody of the child, they have no way of enforcing it. They demand the intervention of the Ministry of Justice.
There is a lot of talk about discrimination against women, but still too little attention is paid to us, fathers – this was the sentiment echoed on the streets of Warsaw on Friday. The fathers' protest loudly opposes the increasingly common phenomenon of parental alienation, or in practice – as they say – the elimination of fathers from children's lives.
– My wife moved out and took her. It limits our contacts, says Andrzej Mikulski, the father of the protest. – We rather represent those fathers who want to take care of their children and want to contribute to them – says Wojciech Miga, the organizer of the protest.
– We are also talking about the child's right to have both parents, so that the child has a mother and a father after a divorce – comments Wojciech Pruński, a protest participant.
There is a growing number of those who want to be more involved in their children's lives
According to data from organizations dealing with parental alienation, the number of fathers who turn to them for help is expected to increase because the number of those who want to be more involved in their children's lives is also growing. The number of such cases before family courts is currently expected to reach up to 100,000. Some of them last for years, which is why some protesters are here again. And with whole families.
– In two years, I saw my now six-year-old son for two minutes – says Tomasz Walenda, a protest participant.
Even if the courts sometimes grant us guardianship, we are unable to enforce it, say protesters. Therefore, they now expect intervention from the Ministry of Justice.
– There are works being undertaken both in the ministerial department responsible for family justice and in the established codification commission – says Zuzanna Rudzińska-Bluszcz, deputy minister of justice.
As the protesters point out, they are not against women or mothers. They say that they are demonstrating not only in their own interests, but above all in the interests of children.
Main photo source: TVN24