Scottish fathers and family services

An awakened interest in Scottish fathers and fathering is traced alongside a UK-wide increase in awareness of the value of the positive involvement of fathers and the importance of encouraging this in family services. This is presented together with evidence of Scottish policy and practice that marginalise fathers to consequent detriment of women and children. Recent efforts to shift attitudes and practices in Scottish central and local government are outlined. The paper concludes with a discussion of the obstacles to embedding in the inclusion of fathers in family policy and services by focusing on powerful cultural stereotypes of Scottish fathers.