Dads in The Bahamas can now be taken to court to prove the parentage of children born out of wedlock

Dads to face court in new child laws
By NOELLE NICOLLS
Tribune Staff Reporter
nnicolls@tribunemedia.net:


BAHAMIAN men can now be taken to court to prove the parentage of children born out of wedlock, based on new regulations that came on stream with the Child Protection Act in 2009.

The law could be of major use to children born out of wedlock if they knew their rights, according to Utah Taylor, founder of Find Your Parents Foundation, and host of Controversy TV.

Mr Taylor said a member of his non-profit foundation, who claims to have conclusive evidence of paternity, is currently battling for recognition from the person presumed to be his father.

"This is a high profile person. He went to the person and he said it is not possible. In another two days I am going to let him know about the law," said Mr Taylor.

The new regulations have not received the kind of attention they should have, according to Dr Sandra Dean Patterson, director of the Bahamas Crisis Centre, which is partly why the Crisis Centre launched its new monthly lecture series with a focus on fatherhood and the law.

"Before the new legislation a child born out of wedlock was what they called a 'nullius filius', which means a child of no man. It was just a child of the woman. But now with the legislation, a child born out of wedlock and a father of a child born out of wedlock can now be recognised in court as having status. If there is concern that the child is not being looked after the father can petition for custody," said Dr Patterson.

"It is a big problem. There are some fathers if they are not in a relationship with a woman they move on and they leave the children behind. It impacts boys more intensely, but girls too experience the effect of not having a father who is actively involved," she said.

If a child petitions the court for a declaration of paternity, the presumed father must prove he is not the father. The child could petition for the presumed person to submit to a paternity test, said Mr Taylor.

Although he was a presenter at the forum, he said he learned information that would have been useful in his own search for a father. It took him 34 years to find out who his biological father was.

"The law needs to be known. It should not be something just known to lawyers and politicians. The small man needs to know what is available to him. A single father needs to know he can petition the courts for parental control. All we know is we have to go to the courts to pay child support or maintenance," said Mr Taylor.

He said there are women who become "spiteful" because of the relationship problems and prevent fathers from having access to their children. He said some women demand child support or maintenance, but refuse to allow visitation rights.

"Fatherlessness and/or father hunger is recognized as a significant factor in the psyche and emotional functioning of boys and girls. We see this as creating a vacuum and a sense of incompleteness in many of our young people, contributing to boys' externalizing behaviour and their vulnerability to gangs and girls' vulnerability to older men and 'sugar daddies'," said a statement issued by the Crisis Centre.

Other presenters included Elsworth Johnson of the Eugene Dupuch Legal Aide Clinic and John Bostwick of Bostwick & Co.

The July lecture series is set to focus on the Domestic Violence Protection Orders Act, which is a "ground breaking legislation", said Dr Patterson.

It provides a more comprehensive definition of domestic violence, and enables a broader range of groups to go before the courts for a domestic violence dispute: not just married couples, but those in intimate relationships, children, or anyone who is a victim of some kind of domestic violence.

The new law also allows the court to mandate perpetrators or partners to get help and mandates the police to take victims to the hospital.

June 26, 2010

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