ITN to Make TV Documentary About Non-Resident Mothers

The ITN factual department are planning to make a television documentary about mothers who do not live with their children. The issues of non-resident fathers have been well publicised over recent years due the high profile activities of fathers4justice, and yet the plight of mothers in the same situation has received virtually no attention in the media. Non-resident mothers have mixed feelings about the idea. A new website for non-resident mothers has quickly caught the attention of TV producers at ITN who wish to make a documentary about women in this situation. Jessica Harling from the ITN factual department described the postings on the forum as "heart wrenching and compelling". She says that to her knowledge the subject has not been portrayed on television and that a documentary would help to raise awareness of the issue. Talking to the website owner, Jessica said, "What I feel would make for a fascinating documentary is just showing some mother's in this situation discussing the rollercoaster of emotions, as literally described on the forum, that being a non resident mother can result in...This could be a chance for some mothers to simply show and express the love for their children and how passionate they are to gain more access to them...The pain these women are going through must be one of, if not the hardest thing any mother could go through, yet so much attention has been diverted away from this in sympathy to fathers, which is such a shame". One of the site's contributors has mixed feelings about the idea. She said,"this is a great opportunity for raising awareness about the issue and might drive more non resident mums towards the site but at the same time; the site should remain a safe place where people can choose to remain anonymous". She also said, "many women in this situation remain silent as they are afraid of how they will be treated by others and that for some, including myself, exposure on television might actually make things worse". The website owner is continuing discussions with the production team to see if there is a way that contributors could remain anonymous and to ensure that individuals are portrayed in a dignified and respectful way. Non resident mums who would like to participate in a TV documentary and those who would like to join the forum should visit the website at http://www.birdflew.co.uk