Ever since FAD – Father Against Discrimination asbl has been created we are often asked why?

To answer this please see below quoted paragraph (decision available for download below) from a scandalous, bias and discriminatory decision of a Judge Pascale DUMONG – Luxembourg (Référé Divorce No. 373/2017, Oct. 31st, 2017).

The below paragraph is just an example of continuous violation of children’s rights, gender inequality and parental discrimination in Luxembourg Family Courts.

Version française – page 4 / paragraph 6: “Par ailleurs, il ne conteste pas que c’est bien la mère que se charge de faire les devoirs avec les enfants et de leur préparer les repas, de sorte qu’il y a encore lieu de retenir que la mère constitue, en l’espace, la personne des référence pour les deux enfants.”

English translation – page 4 / paragraph 6: “He does not deny that it is the mother who does homework with the children and prepares meals, and therefore it is necessary to take into account the fact that the mother is in this case a person raising the two children.”

It is important to note that Luxembourg court clearly stated from the very beginning of the custody proceedings (starting 2017) that both parents were equally capable to raise the two children (boys at the time were 6.5 and 8 years old) and that both had very strong relationship with the two sons. Further more it was unquestionable for the court that both parents should keep equally distributed parental authority. Still, Judge Pascale DUMONG argued in her decision that it was the mother whom the boys should stay with and the father was to be awarded with “visiting rights” to see his sons every 2nd weekend.

Why?

According to Judge Pascale DUMONG to raise children is to cook and do homework with them. This is apparently the definition of parenthood and although these arguments have never been raised in court they were decisive. Furthermore in 6 pages long decision mother is referred to as “mother” or her last name. The father is referred to as “he” or his last name. A word “father” is mentioned once. Then after being an active father for 8 years the father is told he will see his sons every 2nd weekend and every second Tuesday for 2.5 hours.

It took nearly 2 years for the father to recover his parental rights. The rights not only to visit with his sons every 2nd weekend but to raise them, to look after them as he did before separation. It took 2 years, numerous appeals,   3 lawyers and substantial amount of money spent on legal fees to feed the judicial system. 2 years for the Luxembourg court to finally allow the children to voice their needs. 2 years to put a stop to violation of children’s rights and for the final decision of the Luxembourg Family Court introducing 50/50 Shared Parenting – Alternating Residence. The decision that should have ben taken in the very beginning of the legal proceedings removing the possibility for the custodian parent to use children as an instrument of blackmail. It took 2 years for the Luxembourg Family Court to introduce 50/50 Shared Parenting – Alternating Residence, a model and methodology confirmed by over  40 years of empirical studies, scientific conclusions and consensus among internationally recognized psychologists to be the most effective bringing emotional stability to children during separation and after divorce of the parents.

A CHILD SHOULD NEVER BE DEPRIVED OF HIS NATURAL RIGHT TO FAMILY LIFE AND EQUAL ACCESS TO BOTH PARENTS. NOR DOES ANYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO DECIDE WHICH OF HIS PARENTS’ LOVE HAS MORE VALUE.

Please sign FAD Petition to help 50/50 Shared Parenting – Alternating Residence become a rule and a starting point for all custody hearings in Luxembourg just as it has been in many modern countries in EU.