The term "father unknown" needs to be changed because it is inaccurate and creates too many complications, according to two single mothers who were interviewed by The Times.

They also called for there to be a way to force fathers to accept responsibility and pay maintenance, without having to end up in court at the mother's legal expense.

Speaking to The Times, Lucy*, a single mother who chose not to register her child under the father's name, said that a woman would have to be blind, drugged and raped to not know who the father of her child is, unless she is a prostitute.

She suggested that the term be changed to "father does not shoulder his own responsibility", because in her case, she was abandoned after being "offered" an abortion.

She was 21 at the time, and decided it was more dignified to accept full responsibility of the child by herself than to chase a 29-year-old man and pay the legal fees to force him to support her.

It is thought that some single mothers write "father unknown" in order to obtain more funding from the government, but in reality single mothers who do not declare who the father of their child is, are actually losing their right to ask the father for financial child support and inheritance, she pointed out.

Another single mother, Mandy*, also raises her child alone. Although the father is registered, he has always been absent in their lives.

She told The Times that, in retrospect, she would prefer her child to be registered as "father unknown" because his legal presence has led to many difficulties. The child has his father's surname, meaning that Mandy is often asked to prove that she is his mother. When the child needs to travel, she must find the father to get his approval and signature.

She said that since she has not been in contact with him for six years, this might create problems. She is afraid that one day her son will need to travel, perhaps for medical treatment, and she will not manage to find the father for his approval.

But worst of all she fears that the father, who has never met his son, will be able to impose himself into their lives at any moment.

"He can even go to the child's school, say he is the father, pick him up and take him away. That would be a nightmare," she said.

She used to think that those who write "father unknown" were women who do not know who the father of their child is. Now she thinks that many single mothers choose to write "father unknown" so that none of these complications would arise.

However, despite wanting to get rid of these complications she still feels that the term "unknown" does not reflect reality. "The father is not unknown. He is absent because he wants to be," she said. She also feels the term would be degrading to herself and her child.

A spokesman from helpline 159, the Social Policy Information Centre, said that it is actually very rare for a mother to be unaware of who the father of her child is, although such cases do exist. She said that the social benefits for single mothers are pretty much the same, regardless of whether the child's father is registered or not.

The father's presence is calculated as part of the means test that is carried out when one applies for social benefits. The means test examines how much the mother earns, how many children she is supporting, whether she lives alone or with parents, and so on.

Mandy and Lucy both work and study, and do not receive any extra social benefits. This is because the money they earn is deducted from the government funding that they would otherwise receive.

Although in the first few years they were supported by the government, nowadays they both make more than the supplementary relief which amounts to about €250 per month.

Although they agree that abuse of social benefits is rampant, they both say that their problems, as single mothers, are not only financial.

Lucy insists that she does not care about what society thinks of her, as long as she knows that she is doing the best for her son's life and education. But, like Mandy, she thinks that the term "unknown father" is degrading.

Mandy insists that there should be a way to force fathers to accept responsibility and pay maintenance, but that this should not be done at the legal expense of the single mother. She says she is afraid to hassle the father of her child for money because she fears that he will retaliate and that the case would end up in court at her expense.

A social worker, who preferred to be unnamed, said that although abuse of social benefits is very common, this is not usually the case with single mothers.

"Most single mothers live below subsistence level," she said.

She explained that even when the father is registered, the support he gives is minimal. If the father is unemployed, or has minimum or undeclared earnings, his obligations are reduced substantially.

It is up to the mother to chase him for the money, and if the father makes it difficult, the case often ends up in court, at the expense of the mother, she said.

Appoġġ spokesman Rosalie Vella Piscopo told The Times that an unknown father registration leaves a psychological impact on the child and can also have a negative effect on the parent.

"This parent would have a dual role of mother and father, which may lead to poverty because of a lack of resources. These single parents many times have to live on social assistance, be only able to work limited hours and/or have low income," she said.

Communications Minister Austin Gatt, who is responsible for civil registration, recently apologised for giving an erroneous and inflated figure regarding the number of babies whose fathers were registered as unknown.

He had initially said that one in every five babies born last year were registered as having an "unknown father" - more than double the figure given for 2006. This led to an outcry spearheaded by Azzjoni Nazzjonali to end benefits to those single mothers who do not declare the name of the father, except in the cases of rape, in an attempt to curb abuse of social security.

Later it transpired that the figure had actually decreased from 2006, and Dr Gatt made a statement to correct his error. The correct figure should have read 9.09 per cent - 352 out of 3,871 births.

* Names have been changed to protect the identity of the children.

cperegin@timesofmalta.com