Minors 'need to shoulder paternal responsibility'

The law that precludes minors from having their paternity acknowledged in extramarital births should be amended so they can shoulder their responsibility, although the change is unlikely to reduce the percentage of "unknown fathers" drastically, according to an expert in the field.

Clinical psychologist and marriage counsellor Fr Paul Galea, who has researched the subject extensively, said that just as parents can allow minors to get married, they should also be allowed to give their sons consent to recognise their fatherhood and the obligations that accompany it in the case of births outside marriage.

As the law stands, section 86 of the Civil Code states that fathers under 18 cannot acknowledge a child, whether they want to or not, shedding new light on the statistic that 53 per cent of children from unmarried under-20-year-olds are registered as "father unknown".

The Social Policy Ministry considered this to be an "alarming" phenomenon, questioning whet-her it resulted from cohabiting families wanting to cash in on an extra monetary allowance, or whether the situation was more complex.

But no mention has ever been made of the fact that, as the law stands, minors cannot acknowledge their fatherhood. When asked about this, the ministry yesterday said that, in view of the reforms it was planning, it would be considering changing the law in consultation with the Justice Ministry.

Changes to the law should place responsibility on the parents of both sets of teenagers, said family law expert Ruth Farrugia. "At present, it is only the mother and her parents who shoulder legal responsibility for the child," she pointed out.

Highlighting the somewhat sexist anomaly, Dr Farrugia said fathers under 18 could not acknowledge a child as they themselves were still subject to parental authority. However, this did not apply to girls because of the application of the Roman law principle mater semper certa est - the mother is always certain - whereas the father is only assumed to be the father if he is married to the mother.

While maintaining that the law should be changed, Fr Galea admitted that it would "not turn the tide; just shore it up a little".

While under-18-year-olds effectively had no choice in recognising paternity, even the women were often reluctant to put the father in the picture, Fr Galea said, explaining why recommended amendments to the law would not necessarily reduce the number of unknown fathers.

The mothers were often unwilling to compromise their future, wanting to retain their freedom and full control over their child's upbringing, which often ended up being in the hands of the grandparents.

"The child is often born in the absence of a real relationship, or one that is premature; it is the case of a capricious adventure, with major consequences," he said.

"Logic has it that, when a baby is born, responsibility for its care falls onto the natural parents, irrespective of their age," Fr Galea said. Parents should be drawn into this scenario and their consent extended beyond marriage to their children's paternity.

"If your dog bites someone, you have to pay for the damage caused," Fr Galea said. "Why shouldn't parents, acting as guarantors, get their sons to be acknowledged as the natural father?"

Social Policy Minister John Dalli recently suggested the setting up of a think tank to focus on the growing trend of teen pregnancy and extramarital births, quoting that one in every four was to mothers under 20.

Another 30 per cent were from those between 20 and 24, with 39 per cent registering unknown fathers. This decreased to around 24 per cent for mothers between 25 and 34.

Asked what percentage of the under-20-year-olds registering "father unknown" were minors, the ministry said no breakdown was available as the statistics from the Demographic Review 2008 grouped 20-year-olds and under.

Dr Farrugia pointed out the need for clear statistics about fathers aged under 18 - not 20 - and for more information to get a clearer picture of the single-mother profile that was constantly being referred to.

The ministry had, in fact, suggested it was high time parents of non-marital births, registering an unknown father, were "interviewed to get to know them better".