Article here. Excerpt:

'We live in an era of "men deserts", says the Centre for Social Justice. One day my children will look on me with worshipful eyes and say: "Mother, how did we survive the man drought of the early 21st century?" as if I'm some Mad Max of the spunkless years. This Sunday is Father's Day, the traditional time to pay tribute to any man you haven't driven screaming from your fanny ghetto after mating. But what to buy?
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The report criticises agencies that intervene in cases of domestic abuse for failing to recognise fathers as caregivers, on the grounds that "many perpetrators desire a more positive relationship with their children, and this can be a powerful motivator for change." Here, the CSJ is subordinating the safety of children to the potential self-improvement of abusers. Because this report, with its wobbly stats and its exaggerated claims, isn't actually about what's best for children: it's about the fear that some women and children might be perfectly OK without a masculine hand hanging over the household.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'A former sixth-grade teacher and mother of two pleaded guilty to having sex with a student, Southern California authorities said Friday.

Malia Brooks, who taught at Garden Grove Elementary in Simi Valley, pleaded guilty Thursday to three counts of lewd conduct with a child under 14, said Ventura County Deputy District Attorney Erin Meister.

The judge indicated that Brooks will likely receive a six-year prison term when sentenced on August 23, Meister said. Bail was set at $2 million for the 32-year-old Brooks, who remains in custody.

"Malia Brooks has a mental illness. For 31 years, she was a law-abiding citizen," her attorney, Ron Bamieh, said. "Something had to occur for her to drastically change who she was. It's not like she is attracted to 12 year-old boys."'

Article here. Obama remarked that a better child support system would get fathers more involved?! Excerpt:

'WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama says there's no substitute for the love and support that fathers provide.

In his weekly Internet and radio address, Obama is wishing Americans a happy Father's Day. He laments that his own father wasn't around and says he's still working to be a better father.

Obama says being a dad isn't easy for anyone - gay, straight, grandparent or foster parent. He says he wants to encourage marriage and strong families by reforming child support laws to get more fathers engaged. He says businesses, faith groups and communities have a role to play.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Assume for a moment that your employer let you decide when and where you worked — you might arrive early so you could leave in time to care for a child, or work part of the week from home. Or perhaps you want to reduce your hours for a while to care for an aging parent. How would you be perceived if you raised your hand for one of these options?

"Many times these policies are on the books, but informally everyone knows you are penalized for using them,” said Joan C. Williams, founding director of the Center for Work-Life Law at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, referring to the array of flexible work arrangements some employers offer. “I invented the term ‘flexibility stigma’ to describe that phenomenon. Recent studies have found that it is alive and well, and it functions quite differently for women than it does for men.”

For some women, it gives employers a reason to view them through the lens of motherhood, prompting the strongest form of gender discrimination. Mothers are seen as less competent and less committed to their work, she said, citing other studies. But more surprising is that men who seek work flexibility may be penalized more severely than women, because they’re viewed as more feminine, deviating from their traditional role of fully committed breadwinners.
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Article here. Excerpt:

'NEWS ads are urging men to take the bull "by the balls" and take charge of their mental health.

It's part of a new multi-million dollar "Man Therapy" campaign funded by the federal government that's urging men to take action on depression and anxiety - and reminding them a real man looks out for his mates.

Mental Health Minister Mark Butler said the number of male deaths from suicide in 2011 were almost twice that of road deaths, making suicide the biggest killer of Australian males between 15 and 44.

Mr Butler said the tragedy was most men did not seek help for their underlying mental health issue.

The Man Therapy campaign being rolled out by Beyondblue hoped to change that and get through to men using humour.'

Article here. Excerpt:

"We know the statistics," said President Barack Obama, "that children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime; nine times more likely to drop out of schools and 20 times more likely to end up in prison. They are more likely to have behavioral problems, or run away from home, or become teenage parents themselves."

The Journal of Research on Adolescence found that even after controlling for varying levels of household income, kids in father-absent homes are more likely to end up in jail. And kids that never had a father in the house are the most likely to wind up behind bars.
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Studies back up the link between the explosive growth in government welfare -- begun in the '60s -- and the increase of out-of-wedlock births.
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How do we know that the welfare state creates disincentives that hurt the people we are trying to help? They tell us. In 1985, the Los Angeles Times asked whether poor women "often" have children to get additional benefits. Most of the non-poor respondents said no. When the same question was asked of the poor, however, 64 percent said yes.

People, of course, need help. A humane society does not ignore those who cannot or even will not fend for themselves. But good faith does not substitute for sound policy. The welfare state is an assault on families.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'THE Town Hall was bombarded with complaints after a “radical feminism” conference was held at the council-owned Camden Centre.

Radfem – some members of which are accused of arguing that men should form 10 per cent of the population, according to men’s rights activists – have been barred from holding their annual get-together in Camden venues in recent years.

Last year, Conway Hall in Holborn cancelled the booking because Radfem refused to allow entry to transgender women.

This year the London Irish Centre in Camden Square cancelled because they didn’t have the “manpower” to deal with the complaints they were receiving.

Radfem applied to use the Camden Centre, and the event went ahead on Saturday and Sunday.

An open letter from Men’s Rights Activism to the Camden Centre’s events manager said Radfem had a “documented history of advocating harm to male infants, gendercide of half the human race. At what point did the Camden Centre conclude that this event, which excludes people on the grounds of sex, does not breach the UK Equality Act 2010? I do not consider myself an oppressor because I was born male, this is a denial of my humanity.”'

Article here. Excerpt:

'The number of women in employment since 2008 has increased by more than a quarter of a million, a 1.2pc net rise, while the number of men in work has dropped by 70,000, a 0.4pc net fall, a study of official labour market data has shown.

The analysis by The Jobs Economist, an employment consultancy which publishes the research today, claims the widespread assertion that women have been more adversely affected by austerity and job cuts than men is wrong.

Dr John Philpott, director of The Jobs Economist, said he can see no reason why the Government is focusing on trying to help get more women back to work when men appear to have been worst hit by job cuts.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Tessa Jowell MP has been accused of being sexist after claiming women are "much more driven than men".

She was speaking on BBC Radio 5 about the representation of women in Parliament when she made the comments.

"I think by and large women are much more driven to work together and to work through an issue to a solution."

Host Stephen Nolan took issue with Jowell by asking "And men can't?" before Jowell responded: "Much less, much, much less."

Nolan came back. "There is no way as a man I would get away on this radio station with saying men drive things through better. These blanket statements that you are able to get away with, it is inherently sexist."

But Jowell rejected his claim. "No it's not," she said. "It's not sexist. It's making a statement about the different ways in which the male MPs tend to work and the women MPs tend to work.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Women are far more likely to survive cancer than men are, research shows.

Nearly twice as many women as men are still alive at least ten years after being diagnosed.

This is largely because the most common form of cancer in women – breast cancer – is easier to treat than the most common form in men, prostate cancer.

Research by Macmillan Cancer Support shows that 260,000 women are still alive ten years after their cancer diagnosis, compared with 140,000 men.

The charity says this is partly because almost 80 per cent of the 50,000 women diagnosed annually with breast cancer can expect to live at least another decade.

In contrast, just over 65 per cent of the 41,000 men diagnosed with prostate cancer will survive for this length of time.'