Media Release
June 28 2007
Parenting for fathers in a changing world
Active parenting for fathers in Australia often becomes a key part of
their lives after divorce, not before. That’s the finding of visiting
Swedish research fellow at the University of South Australia, Dr Roger
Klinth.
“In Australia during the last few years, the debate on men’s right to
child custody after divorce has been dominated by ‘fatherhood rights’
groups that seem to be more concerned with equality in their legal
status than in their everyday parenting. These groups ignore the way in
which custody decisions are shaped by division of labour before
separation and divorce,” Dr Klinth said.
He believes that equal rights to parenting time with children after
divorce must be related to equal responsibility before the divorce,
otherwise the best interests of the children could be in danger.
“Men’s superior and privileged positions in the Australian workforce
often spare them from the many difficulties related to balancing work
and family obligations but this one-sided framing of fatherhood runs the
risk of undercutting rather than supporting men’s involvement in
childcare,” he said.
“These negative images need to be balanced by a positive vision of ‘new’
and committed fathers, whether in relationships, or separated or
divorced.”
Dr Klinth believes Australia has much to learn from Sweden, where
fatherhood has been placed in the framework of the new gender-equal
family.
“Swedish men stand out as being more closely involved in the daily lives
of their children and express more positive attitudes towards gender
equality and caretaking responsibilities than men in other countries,”
Dr Klinth said.
“Paid paternity leave, which was introduced in Sweden in 1974, has
played an important role in contributing to the visibility of men’s
involvement in the family. It has placed the focus on men as fathers,
not only as husbands or breadwinners, and has contributed to bridging
the historical gap between men’s and women’s traditional roles.”
Dr Klinth wants to see paid paternity leave introduced in Australia to
allow fathers to play a more active role in their children’s
development, whether or not they are in a family relationship or
separated.
Contact for interview
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Dr Roger Klinth mobile 0404 758 914 email roger.klinth@unisa.edu.au
Media contact
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Geraldine Hinter office (08) 8302 0963 mobile 0417 861 832
email geraldine.hinter@unisa.edu.au