Baby dolls strapped to Antony Gormley’s ‘Iron Men’ sculptures on Crosby beach in protest

A number of baby dolls were strapped to the iconic ‘Iron Men’ sculptures on Crosby beach this weekend by a charity campaigning to increase paternity leave for fathers.

The Pregnant then Screwed group also played recordings of distressed baby cries during the protest at the popular site of Antony Gormley’s art installation.

The Babies were strapped to the front of five out of 100 statues to represent the 5% of dads who access shared parental leave, a policy which the charity says “has failed on every measure”.

Pregnant then Screwed are calling for the government to increase ‘inadequate’ paternity leave from a maximum two weeks to six weeks minimum.

This stunt has hit Crosby beach at the time of the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, aiming to put pressure on politicians to implement reform.

What has been said?

According to the BBC, a government spokeswoman said they had “no current plans to offer six weeks of paid paternity leave as standard. However, if a father wants longer than the two weeks of paternity leave, he may choose to take shared parental leave (SPL) with his partner which enables them to share up to 37 weeks of paid leave.”

Under the shared parental leave policy, a couple can share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay, however, this means that the mother would need to take less than the 52 weeks of maternity or adoption leave and use the rest as SPL.

Pregnant Then Screwed say fathers and partners taking paternity leave, “supports the mother’s return to the labour market and supports the mental health of both parents”.

Joeli Brearley, CEO and Founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, said: “We are so far behind other countries on this it is embarrassing. Politicians talk a good game about closing the gender pay gap, supporting families and improving outcomes for children yet we have the worst paternity benefit in Europe, one of the worst maternity benefits and a crumbling childcare system.

“All of the evidence shows that increasing paternity leave and paying at a decent percentage of salary is good for the economy and good for society.

“Just as the Liberal Democrats did at their Party conference, we hope Labour will show their commitment to these policies, placing families at the heart of their vision for a better Britain.”

Future protest plans

The baby dolls are set to move inside the Labour Conference venue, the ACC, wearing baby grows with slogans including “longer paternity leave = healthier mums” and “longer paternity leave = a more productive workforce”.