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The Fathers’ Rights Movement is a movement whose members are primarily interested in issues related to family law, including child custody and child support that affect fathers and their children. Many of its members are fathers who desire to share the parenting of their children equally with their children’s mother – either after divorce or as unwed fathers. The movement includes women as well as men, often the second wives of divorced fathers or other family members of men who have had some engagement with family law.

Most of the members of the Fathers’ Rights Movement had little prior interest in the law or politics. However, as they felt that their goal of equal shared parenting was being frustrated by the family courts, many took an interest in family law, including child custody and child support.

Since the 1970’s the divorce laws in most western nations recognized fathers as real parents and both parents are financially responsible, was the emergence of custody battles. Before the 1970’s child custody battles were almost unheard of in the United States.

Though it has been described as a social movement, members of the movement believe their actions are better described as part of a civil rights movement. Objections to the characterizations of the movement as a social movement are related to the belief that discrimination against fathers moves beyond the social sciences and originates in government intervention into family life.