The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
A South Holland dad is battling for equal rights when parents go their separate ways.
Simon Cobb originally launched the PAPA Equal Parenting Campaign before the pandemic, but is stepping up a gear now restrictions have lifted.
He is urging others to support him by displaying posters and lobbying MPs both here and across the country.
His Facebook support page has thousands of parents who have stories on the difficulties they face with parenting after a relationship breakdown.
“It is not just fathers that suffer, there are mothers who face similar issues so it’s an inclusive campaign,” said Simon, of Long Sutton.
“The best thing for children is equal parenting and there should be shared parenting automatically when a couple splits,” he said.
As the system currently stands, one parent often ends-up seeing less of the child but financially paying out more.
“Access can be refused or made really difficult to get extra money,” added Simon, who is self-employed.
He has an eight-year-old son and says he knows people who are really struggling to maintain any parenting role because of an acrimonious end to a relationship.
“I don’t want to think that anyone is going through it. We need to change the way things are handled legally,” he said.
The pandemic meant his campaign to gain publicity through posters and meetings was curtailed, but his Facebook page gained followers throughout.
He is currently working on creating a website alongside his campaign materials to enable greater access to help.
“I am funding it all myself and am happy to do so. The pandemic and lockdown meant I wasn’t able to do too much, but that’s changed now.”
He also has an Instagram account to share information and updates.
For more information about the PAPA campaign, see the Facebook page https://facebook.com/groups/167881353601718/
