05/11/2025
Let’s Stop Weaponizing Statistics Against Women
The recent “paternity fraud” narrative is not about protecting children; it’s about controlling women.
By Rachel O.S. Edmund
Trinidad and Tobago has been buzzing with headlines claiming that “one in three men are raising a child that isn’t biologically theirs.”
The figure, released by the Fathers’ Association, has been used to push for mandatory DNA testing and new laws to address so-called “paternity fraud.”
But before we rush to legislate or repeat slogans, we need to pause and really look at what’s being said, and more importantly, why it’s being said.
The Math Doesn’t Add Up
According to reports, 440 paternity tests were conducted over a five-year period, with 143 revealing non-biological fathers.
But let’s put that in context: those 440 cases came from a very specific pool, men who already had doubts, were in dispute, or were ordered by the court to take a test.
That’s not a random or representative sample of the nation’s fathers. That’s a snapshot of suspicion.
In the same time span, Trinidad and Tobago recorded roughly 60,000 births. So 440 cases represent less than one percent of all births. Even if all 143 “negative” results were valid, that’s barely 0.2% — 2–3 children per 1,000 births or about one in 400, not “one in three.”
(This only considered live births).
If we also consider the father population that number goes to 1 in 2200, a far cry from 1 in 3.
This is not a national epidemic. It’s a narrative being inflated to look like one.
The Story Beneath the Story
This conversation is not really about science. It’s about control.
The “paternity fraud” narrative taps into old patriarchal fears; fear of deception, fear of women’s autonomy, fear of losing authority over women’s bodies and choices.
It’s no coincidence that it surfaces at a time when women are speaking more boldly about equality, accountability, and gender-based violence. It's a global trend.
As a woman, a pastor, and a single mother, I find this sudden outrage deeply revealing. When women raise concerns about abandonment, violence, or child support evasion, the silence is quite deafening. But the moment a few men feel deceived, suddenly there’s urgency, headlines, and calls for policy reform. Where is the outcry and policy reform requests to our concerns?
Real Equity Means Shared Responsibility
Let me be clear: I am not opposed to DNA testing at birth.
But if the state mandates DNA testing, it must also mandate immediate and enforceable child support, along with 50/50 custody and parenting time, once paternity is confirmed.
That means if a father is legally recognized, he must be equally responsible not just entitled.
The same system demanding truth from mothers must also hold fathers accountable when they:
* hide income to avoid garnishment,
* change jobs or banks to dodge payment,
*or simply disappear from their child’s life.
This will finally give mothers the break they have always needed, since childcare has traditionally and overwhelmingly been the mother’s responsibility. With true shared parenting time, a woman can finally breathe; she can pursue her goals, her career, her education, her peace. It reduces stress, improves mental health, and allows her to show up more present and fulfilled, not just as a mother but as a whole person.
If we want fairness, then fairness must be lived not just legislated.
We cannot talk about “paternity fraud” without also addressing the far greater epidemic of parental (father) abandonment and economic evasion which leaves thousands of women and children unsupported.
Fatherhood Is Not DNA — It’s Devotion
I’ve raised two children alone. Not because I wanted to, but because I had to.
Fatherhood is not proven by a lab test. It’s proven by presence.
It’s easy to demand DNA; it’s harder to demand dedication.
It’s easy to chase statistics; it’s harder to show up every day.
So while men call for “truth,” women have already been living it; the truth of sacrifice, exhaustion, and love that keeps homes standing.
Shifting the Focus
In the near future, I intend to commission a study on single mothers and their outcomes; examining how faith, education, social support, and policy structures shape their success and well-being.
This study will be statistically sound, peer-reviewed, and rooted in real data not moral panic.
Because if we want effective policy, we must start from truth that uplifts, not statistics that shame.
The voices of single mothers deserve to be part of the national conversation; not silenced, not stereotyped, and certainly not reduced to footnotes in someone else’s agenda.
The Bigger Picture
Let’s be honest, I am not interested in preserving male comfort or balancing narratives that have never been balanced to begin with.
For generations, women have been expected to protect men’s reputations while carrying the full weight of their neglect.
The truth is, the conversation about paternity has never been about children; it’s been about control over women.
I refuse to center men’s fears in a discussion that should be about women’s realities.
Because when we recenter the conversation around single mothers; their sacrifices, their survival, their systemic disadvantages; the entire narrative shifts.
This is not about pitting men and women against each other. It’s about recognizing that equality cannot exist in a society that continues to legislate from a place of male anxiety and moral superiority.
If men want to be part of the solution, they can start by being consistent, not combative.
But my focus, and the focus of my advocacy, will remain on the women holding families together against all odds.
“Truth without context becomes a weapon.”
If we truly want stronger families, let’s build them on justice and shared responsibility; not fear, shame, or blame.
Because when we start weaponizing statistics, the only ones who suffer are the children caught in between.
