EVERYONE knows separated fathers are victims of rough justice. A woman can enter a marriage owning nothing but a bunch of orange blossom, and leave it with a weekly income in perpetuity and a houseful of beautiful children. Meanwhile her ex ends up alone by a two-bar heater on the North Circular. You can see what Rod Stewart meant when he said: “Instead of getting married again, I’m going to find a woman I don’t like and just give her a house.”

But if only fathers’ rights advocates would stop sabotaging their own cause. Actress Kate Winslet is now threatening to sue Fathers4justice for using her image in an ad with the tagline: ‘Kate, every child deserves a father this Christmas’.

Winslet’s lawyers say the ad is “misleading and defamatory”. It’s also nasty, intrusive and unnecessary. When you’ve got a good case, you needn’t resort to antagonising people. It’s not helping.

Published in the Irish Mail on Sunday, 29 December 2013