*Ø* Blogmanac | Fatherlessness

Yesterday we celebrated Fathers' Day in my home country, it's a good time to look at some men's issues, which usually take a back seat.

The epidemic of male suicide is approached in this article:

Protecting good men from themselves
In publishing a special series, "Suicide: men at risk", The Age has been conscious that this is a subject fraught with sensitivities, hurts and dangers. Few people, Age staff included, have not been touched by the suicide of someone they know. Most of us would benefit from a more open discussion about what can be done to reduce a terrible toll. In 2001, 1935 men killed themselves - more than the Australian road toll - at a rate four times greater than among women. Almost half of all suicides involve men aged 25 to 44, with men in the 45-54 and over-75 groups the next worst-affected. The incidence of youth suicide, the one aspect of the problem to have been publicly acknowledged, has fallen steadily."

Source

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On the epidemic of fatherlessness (USA figures, but similar for Australia)

"1) BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS/ RUNAWAYS/ HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS/CHEMICAL ABUSERS/ SUICIDES

85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes (Source: Center for Disease Control)
90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes (Source: U.S. D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census)
71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes (Source: National Principals Association Report on the State of High Schools.)
75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes (Source: Rainbows for all God's Children.)
63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes (Source: U.S. D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census)

"2) JUVENILE DELINQUENCY/ CRIME/ GANGS
80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes (Source: Criminal Justice & Behavior, Vol 14, p. 403-26, 1978)
70% of juveniles in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes (Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Special Report, Sept 1988)
85% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless home (Source: Fulton Co. Georgia jail populations, Texas Dept. of Corrections 1992)
California has the nation's highest juvenile incarceration rate and the nation's highest juvenile unemployment rate. Vincent Schiraldi, Executive Director, Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, "What Hallinan's Victory Means," San Francisco Chronicle (12/28/95) ... "

Source: Fatherhood and fatherlessness

Effects of fatherlessness
More on fatherlessness