Asia-Pacific News
Taiwan group calls for government support for single fathers
Aug 5, 2009, 8:17 GMT
Taipei - A Taiwan pressure group Wednesday urged the government and society to give more support to single fathers.
The Single Parents Association said that while the government is providing assistance to single mothers, it is not offering support to single fathers.
'Single fathers must earn a salary and raise kids. Currently government support for single parents is given to women's groups. So if single fathers want to seek help, they must turn to women's groups and that hurts men's dignity,' said the groups head Chu Chien-feng.
'According to the Taipei Department of Health, among every 100 suicides in Taipei in 2005, 80 per cent were single parents and 54 per cent were single fathers,' he said
Rui Chi and Lao Niao, both single fathers, said the lack of support for single fathers reflects gender discrimination on the part of the government and society.
August 8 is the Father's Day in Taiwan because in Mandarin 'ba,' the word for 'eight,' sounds the same as 'father.'
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