It's 6.30pm in Seattle. The phone rings, but goes unanswered. The ring sounds hollow, echoing all the way to Hong Kong, where a father replaces the phone on its cradle. Another day and no contact with his children.
In Hong Kong, a young girl ignores her father's call from Melbourne. It's not that she does not want to speak to him, it's just that she knows which side her bread is buttered on.
A father manages to ring through to his children in Sydney, who are growing up. The conversation is strained, imbued with so much antagonism. He has been lucky to retain contact with them since remaining in Hong Kong after they were taken to Australia.
Around the world, children are growing up without their fathers. Marriages dissolve, and the father is slowly pushed out of the children's lives.
Fathers are labelled deadbeats or 'unconcerned', but few fit the bill. In fact, a mother is less likely to pay child maintenance, but we don't hear of deadbeat mums. Perhaps because the paying parent is overwhelmingly the father, while the custodial parent is overwhelmingly the mother.
Studies have shown fatherlessness leads to higher truancy, greater delinquency and more teenage pregnancies, to name a few impacts. Yet our society supports and encourages it.
It starts with the dissolution of the marriage, when the mother clings to the children and denies the father access because ... well, just because. Seventy per cent of marriages are ended by the wife, and all too often children are used as a weapon.
