Or indeed women, but all the cases happening to my friends right now are men. And I know I'm not actually being unreasonable.
What is it about grown men who decide to abandon their responsibility to children they willingly conceive? And how do they so easily seem to find other women to support them?!
One friend's ex husband has just announced he's voluntarily quitting work, doing a random degree instead and being supported by his girlfriend. In his 40s. He has smugly announced he won't be paying maintenance any more and doesn't know when he'll see the kids either. No apology or explanation. That's that, end of 'discussion'. She's now left to juggle and pay for everything including a big childcare bill for 3 kids whilst working full time.
Another friend is left to pay for everything and care for her two children virtually all the time because he is apparently too sick to work or look after his children (manages other stuff just fine, including spouting a lot of nonsense on social media and its an illness lots of people overcome ad cope with). He relies on his new girlfriend too.
Another - her husband just upped and left one day claiming not to be happy. Of course there was an OW who he then moved in with ... quit his job ... sees children rarely and leaves them stressed and anxious when he does ... and of course contributes nothing to their costs. Same pattern. OW is supporting him.
Another - he's buggered off, taking all their savings with him. Left her with the kids. Waiting for OW to emerge there.
And they are just the ones closest to me. Others I know have ex partners who have never paid a penny and rarely see their children. How are they allowed to get away with it? I realise money can't be claimed if it isn't earned ... but they leave women who have no choice just to pick up the pieces and get on with it. How does their conscience let them?
None of my friends of course resent a penny or time spent on caring for their children. And being good women, they spend their time downplaying what the father has done, trying to arrange contact, working even harder to make up the money loss etc etc. They wouldn't be able to sleep at night if they didn't.
If the resident / main carer parent did this (usually the woman) and just refused to financially care for or support her children there would be outrage and social services involvement (rightly so). But apparently (some) men can just get away with it...and manage to find women to support it 