Port of Spain; The members of the Single Fathers' Association of Trinidad and Tobago are asking to be treated equal to the mothers in court matters. They are claiming mothers are given privileges way superior to that of the father. The plea that fathers are missing from the home and family continue to impact heavily on delinquency and criminal elements; which they believe is enough reason to encourage more participation on behalf of fathers. The members of SFATT are calling for a level playing field where their kids are concerned. Mothers are always given the benifit to have the final say as to what they want from the court and more often than not they are granted their wish.
They expressed how the courts seldom want to hear their plea as the father for supervision or custody. One heartbroken father said he pleaded with the court to gain custody of his two children, but they never gave him consideration. The court simply asked; mam you want your children? she responded yes and they said ok, so he was denied rights. What is haunting him to date though, is that his two kids and their mother were brutally murdered some time after he went to court; and he is of the belief that if his kids resided with him, chances are they might have been alive today. The association is pleading for this bias to stop.
