Fathers' rights in light of the convicted Rotherham rapist story

You will all be aware of the recent headlines regarding the ‘Rotherham Rapist’ and the steps taken by Rotherham Council when they contacted Mr Hussain about care proceedings regarding the son he fathered through the rape of his mother.

What happened?

Care proceedings were taking place in respect of the child. Within care proceedings, the Council have the obligation to inform all possible parties to the proceedings that they are taking place. This obligation includes contacting parents without parental responsibility, which they did when contacting Mr Hussain. Mr Hussain did not apply for contact with the child, but Rotherham Council made him Respondent in the proceedings.

The Council did have the option to apply to court for an order allowing them to not notify Mr Hussain, which is what has been suggested they should have done.

What are the rights of the father of a child conceived by rape?

Under the current law, mentioned above, the father has the right to be a party to care proceedings and potentially has the right to apply to the court for contact in private children law as well.

However, this does not give them an automatic right to have contact with the child and the welfare of the child is paramount to the court. The court will determine whether contact should be allowed, but it is likely to be difficult for the father in these circumstances to persuade the courts to allow access.

Is reform coming?

Much discussion is now taking place as to whether the rights of men who fathered children through rape should be removed. It is currently too early to see whether steps will be taken to reform the law, but it is likely a balance will need to be made with Human Rights.

It will be interesting to see, what the courts and government do in light of this. Harrowells will continue to monitor the outcome to see what reform, if any, takes place.