Zurich, 11.9.12:
The leaders of Swiss men's and fathers' organizations met on September 6, 2012, for a strategy meeting to discuss the Federal Council's proposal to revise maintenance law. After a thorough review of the draft legislation, the associations identified alarming shortcomings.
The fundamentally commendable intention and the specific implementation proposal are completely disproportionate: This strongly suggests a deceptive labeling scheme. The core idea of child support is that the child has a right to material and emotional security. This principle is supported by men's and fathers' organizations.
A gender-equitable solution requires that both parents, in the event of separation or divorce, have an equal responsibility to contribute to the child's material and emotional well-being. The Federal Council's proposal fails to meet this requirement in any way. It remains stuck in the 20th-century model of thinking, according to which one parent has custody and the other is obligated to pay child support. This does not reflect the reality of Swiss families, in which, as a rule, both father and mother are employed (albeit to varying degrees) – nor does it align with the spirit and intent of joint parental custody, which the Federal Council intends to enshrine in law as the standard arrangement.
The men's and fathers' organizations will demand substantial revisions in their official response to the consultation process in order to reconcile the implementation of the child support model with the principles of equality and equal opportunities – and to make it suitable for the family of the 21st century. To this end, they are also working closely with international experts from countries that already have experience with child support.
Ivo Knill, Board Member männer.ch;
Oliver Hunziker, President GeCoBi;
Michel Craman, President mannschaft;
Emmanuel Heierle, Board Member VeV Switzerland
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