To mark the 50th anniversary of the Australian Family Law Act in 2025 A Sense of Place Magazine is running this book series Classics of the Fatherhood Movement.

Also, keep an eye out for the upcoming book from A Sense of Place Publishing, Failure: Family Law Reform Australia by veteran journalist John Stapleton.

Stephen Baskerville’s “Taken into Custody: The War Against Fatherhood, Marriage, and the Family” presents a scathing critique of the American divorce and family court system, arguing that it systematically undermines the traditional family structure, particularly by marginalizing fathers. Baskerville, a political theorist, contends that the system, heavily biased towards mothers, operates more like a punitive apparatus against fathers rather than a fair judicial process.

The book delves into how no-fault divorce laws, introduced with good intentions, have morphed into a mechanism that often coerces unwilling individuals into divorce, with custody of children used as a tool for leverage. Baskerville illustrates how the presumption of maternal custody, even absent evidence of paternal unfitness, leads to a situation where fathers are frequently treated as criminals, losing not just their marital status but also their parental rights and financial stability.

Baskerville’s narrative is supported by numerous anecdotes and case studies, revealing a system where due process and constitutional rights are often overlooked, with fathers facing imprisonment for inability to pay child support, or for seeking to maintain relationships with their children against court orders favoring mothers. This system, according to Baskerville, fosters a culture where marriage is undermined, and fatherhood is criminalized, leading to societal degradation.

Best Reviews:

  1. From Goodreads: “Taken into Custody” exposes what might be the most severe civil rights violation in America today, detailing how the divorce industry benefits from creating more divorces, thereby fueling its own expansion. Baskerville’s exploration into this bureaucratic machine reveals a chilling reality where constitutional rights are eroded, especially for fathers who find themselves on the defensive, often without having initiated the divorce.
  2. From PsycNET: Baskerville’s work is described as a comprehensive exposé on the divorce industry’s depredations. It’s highlighted for its truth-telling approach, revealing the systemic removal of children from loving parents and the criminalization of parents, often in defiance of legal protections and due process.

Quotes from the Author:

  1. “The modern state is completely subversive to the very foundation of this nation, of any stable society, the family.” – This quote underscores Baskerville’s belief that the governmental and legal structures actively work against the stability and sanctity of family units.
  2. “The image of the ‘dead-beat dad’ is a deliberate falsehood, created to justify a set of laws that encourage what amounts to extortion of money from men who want to maintain any presence at all in their children’s lives.” – Here, Baskerville challenges the narrative around child support, suggesting it’s part of a broader scheme to financially and emotionally cripple fathers post-divorce.

Conclusion

Stephen Baskerville’s “Taken into Custody” is not merely a critique but a call to action against what he perceives as a legal and societal injustice against fathers. His arguments are bold, often controversial, painting a picture of a system that needs radical reform to restore fairness in family law. This book serves as both an eye-opener for those unaware of these issues and a rallying point for those directly affected, advocating for a reevaluation of how we approach marriage, divorce, and custody in modern society.

EXTRACT FROM TAKEN INTO CUSTODY

 “The divorce regime is the most totalitarian institution ever to arise in the United States. Its operatives in the family courts and the social service agencies recognise no private sphere of life.

“The divorce regime is responsible for much more than ‘ugly divorces,’ ‘nasty custody battles,’ and other clichés. It is the most serious perpetrator of human and constitutional rights violations in America today. Because it strikes at the most basic institution of any civilization – the family – the divorce regime is a threat not only to social order but to civil freedom. It is also almost completely unopposed. 

“No political party and no politicians question it. No journalists investigate it in any depth. A few attorneys have spoken out, but they are eventually suspended or disbarred. Some academics have written about it, but they soon stop. No human rights or civil liberties groups challenge it, and some positively support it. Very few ‘pro-­family’ lobbies question it. This is because the divorce regime operates through money, political power, and fear.

“The divorce regime is much more serious than simply ‘unfairness’ or ‘gender bias’ against fathers in custody proceedings. It is the government’s machine for destroying the principal check on its power – the family – and criminalising its main rival: fathers. The most basic human and constitutional rights are routinely violated in America’s family courts. The lives of children and parents are in serious danger once they are, as the phrase goes, taken into ‘custody.’ Systemic conflicts of interest among government and private officials charged with child custody, child support, child protection, and connected matters have created a witch hunt against plainly innocent citizens.

“The terror of the divorce regime is not a future possibility; it is a present reality.”

MARKING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AUSTRALIAN FAMILY LAW ACT