*We all have a biological father but when the term fatherless is used it means that the father figure is just not present in the daughter’s life. He may be unavailable, unattached or absent.
Perhaps he’s dead, may have run away or maybe he’s physically present but not attentive and caring. Pope John XXIII once said:
“It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father.”
It is not easy to cope with being fatherless. As human beings, we crave to beloved, cared for, and cherished by those who brought us into life.
More women are fatherless than you can imagine. A recent study from Lisa Mancini and Professor Briggs says:
“As the divorce rate in the United States climbs to nearly 50 percent, fathers seem to be disappearing from their daughters’ lives. Research shows that girls and young women who have an unstable father figure are more liable to have unplanned pregnancy, low-self esteem, high school and college drop-out, poverty, divorce and sexually promiscuous behavior.”
Females Who Grow Up Fatherless Are:
- Eight times more likely to go to prison.
- Five times more likely to commit suicide.
- 20 times more like to have behavioral problems.• 32 times more likely to run away.
- 10 times more likely to abuse chemical substances.• Nine times more likely to drop out of high school.• 33 times more likely to be seriously abused.
- 73 times more likely to be fatally abused.
- On average have a 44% higher mortality rate.
- On average have a 73% lower standard of living.
The above facts are taken from: US Department Health and Human Services, US Department of Health & Census, Rainbow of All God’s Children, Parents of Prison Policy Review 2003 and US Department of Justice Special Report.
If you have an organization that serve women and girls, did you know that at least 1 out of 3 of them is a fatherless daughter? A fatherless daughter is a female who grew up with an unattached, unavailable or absent father. The father may have been in the home physically and not present emotionally…the effects on the daughter will be same as if he wasn’t there at all.
This one key missing element in a female’s life can have many negative consequences on her, especially as she enters her teen and adult years. These consequences will follow her until she deals with them. These consequences create several social ills within our homes, our communities, our relationships, the media and the world.
Dr. Richard Horowitz said, “It leaves a hole in their soul that is extremely difficult to fill, and they carry this father hunger into adulthood until they deal with it.”
“It leaves a hole in their heart that a government can’t fill.” President Barak Obama
We can no longer ignore these issues that have too long gone unrecognized. Too many programs, organizations, companies and institutions that are designed for women and girls are NOT addressing this issue at the ROOT.
Much is being discussed with several open panel forums and events. BUT no one is introducing a real evidence based, result driven solution. We cannot serve women and girls without addressing this issue of Fatherless Daughters, in depth.
I am on a mission to elevate the awareness of this unrecognizable hidden pain that is causing many struggles and failures within the lives of women and girls. And I am also committed to providing real solutions to aid in decreasing the issue of fatherlessness LONG term negative impact on lives of girls and women globally.
Truth of the matter is, some fathers don’t know how to love their daughters or even be there for them. Not all of them, but many do abandon them physically, emotionally or both. And while there are many great men who are mentoring fathers to step up and re-engage and re-enter their daughter’s life, even if she is age 50, there’s nothing one can do to change the fathers who don’t. That’s just who they are.
But we can change how we feel inside and how we respond to this uncaring behavior of our fathers. We can change our fate and make it not just bearable, but BETTER all together!
We can redefine who we are beyond our fatherlessness, reclaim our value and our worth and begin to rewrite a new narrative for our lives. We can, we will and we are!
If you have an organization, church, school or company that serve women or girls, connect with us and learn how you can be apart of this movement to help fatherless daughters heal their daddy wounds and move their lives onto new levels of love, acceptance and forgiveness.
Angela Carr Patterson is a speaker, author, Radio/TV host, Global Life Strategist, Founder of The Fatherless Daughters Network, The Fatherless Girls Summit and the Creator of the groundbreaking “Journey to Being Process” a Fatherless Daughters Breakthrough Program.
To Connect w/ Angela: [email protected] www.fatherlessdaughters.net www.angelacarrpatterson.com
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