The fathers' rights movement is alternately characterized as either a civil rights movement and/or a social movement which is primarily concerned with issues facing fathers and children. Most of these issues are considered under family law, often dealing with controversial institutions such as child support and child custody and advocating for the legal rights of fathers.

In recent years, the fathers' rights movement has become increasingly vocal as frustration over the slow pace of reform mounts. Protests and gatherings both in the real world and online have drawn attention to the efforts of fathers' rights activists.

The movement is largely dedicated to two main goals.

Legal Reform

One major goal of the movement is seeking to effect reforms in the legal system which address and rectify what its supporters see as inherent injustice against fathers. Among the criticisms raised by fathers' rights activists:

The adversarial court system - activists have decried the winner-loser system used to decide child custody cases. They say that family courts are unaccountable to public scrutiny, practice unfair censorship, and are unfairly biased for mothers and against fathers in their decisions.

Custody and support issues - activists have also pointed out what they see as discrepancies and imbalances in the existing child custody and child support system. They have called for reforms such as a rebuttable presumption of shared custody, which would establish a 50/50 custody arrangement unless circumstances dictate otherwise.

Prejudice of abuse - fathers' rights activists claim that public opinion and court decisions are unfairly biased against men as the instigators of abuse. They allege that women make false accusations of abuse in order to gain an unfair advantage in divorce and child custody decisions.

Education

Another major role of fathers' rights organizations is education. Established organizations assist and provide information to fathers embroiled in legal disputes, as well as furnish an extensive emotional and psychological support system.