At the weekend, two desperate fathers once again risked their lives with the kind of publicity stunt we are now well accustomed to.

This time, Martin Matthews, 48, a represenative of fathers' action group Stop The War On Dads and Bobby Smith, 33, of New Fathers 4 Justice, scaled Buckingham Palace walls and climbed onto the top of the Queen's Gallery.

Like protesting dads dressed as Batman and Spiderman before them, they were calling for equal rights for fathers in divorce settlements, and for a reform of the family courts system which they feel is stacked against men, favouring mothers as sole custodians.

Holding a banner that read ‘I Am Harry’s Dad’ and referring to the recent ISIS atrocity in Paris, Mr Matthews said, “Obviously there were a few concerns. People are going to be nervous at the moment. But even if I had taken a bullet, it would have been worth the risk.”

So here we have a man who is willing to take a sniper bullet to the head in order to promote the cause of fathers' rights.

Fathers' rights campaigners stand on the roof of the home of the Labour Party's then deputy leader, Harriet Harman, in 2008 Credit: Reuters

It’s worth briefly pointing out that New Fathers 4 Justice aren’t connected to the original Fathers 4 Justice group, who stopped direct-action stunts and switched to political pressure tactics some time ago.

That followed a huge controversy in 2003, when a F4J protestor dressed as Spiderman climbed a crane at Tower Bridge, causing five days of “commuter chaos”. Then Mayor Ken Livingston said: "We would not put up with it if it was Osama bin Laden. I do not see why anyone would expect we would put up with it for this man."

Comparing a desperate dad to the (then) world’s most wanted terrorist was harsh, but it revealed an undeniable truth which is still evident today: these fathers' rights groups have something of a PR problem.

For starters, the fickle public is becoming immune to their stunts. It's easy for critics to dismiss them quickly as “extremists”, and then we all move on – with the result there is little residual debate around fathers' rights afterwards. And that is a terrible shame.

So why isn’t anybody listening to what these campaigners have to say? For some, their lexicon is too combative, and it becomes all-too-easy for skilled, feminist media players to dismiss their voices.

On their website, Stop The War On Dads’ mission statement reads “Parental alienation is child abuse supported by evil family courts” and adds, “children are often alienated by toxic ex-wives or partners”.

They no doubt believe this to be true, but their critics inevitably, and perhaps unfairly, cry “angry sexists!” Which means it's all too easy to shoot the messenger and conveniently ignore the message.

A fathers' rights campaigner dressed as Batman stands on a motorway gantry over the M25 in 2008 Credit: AP

But strip away the raw emotion and we have some stark facts that cannot and should not be ignored. The Office for National Statistics says that 3.8 million children live in fatherless homes, which is a third of all households. Fathers 4 Justice claim that 200 fathers lose contact with their children every day in “secret” courts. And with around 70 per cent of divorces reported to be initiated by women, men’s groups claim the family courts consistently favour mothers.

There is another chilling statistic, too, and that is the recent 40 per cent spike in male suicides for men aged 40-49. In my work with suicide charities such as CALM and the Samaritans, we know isolation from children plays a huge role in male depression.

A few weeks back, I took part in an emotional LBC radio phone-in on male suicide, where a caller poured his heart out. As he sobbed, “My wife took the kids, she’s turned them against me, I’ve lost everything. I’ve thought of ending it all,” it was impossible not to feel stirred.

The other crucial factor here is the compelling evidence that families need fathers; an unfashionable message in an era where same-sex IVF couples are feted and traditional family units are seen as somehow old-fashioned.

On Friday, in a fascinating seminar abut gang culture at the Being A Man Festival at London's Southbank Centre, Sheldon Thomas, an expert in gang culture and adviser to the Home Office and New Scotland Yard, claimed that 90 per cent of gang members grew up in fatherless homes. Later, these wayward teens join gangs to find the structure, respect and, yes, male role models they were lacking as boys.

Fathers' rights campaigners at Westminster Abbey in 2006 Credit: Paul Grover

This is destructive rebellion at its most tangible. Would these boys’ lives have been different with a father figure in place to maintain discipline and enforce work ethics? We’ll never know. But surely we should try to understand.

Yet all too often, the media paints these fatherless families as “broken” – and often, through the father’s choice. This toxic image of the feckless dad is deeply injurious, and it’s also mostly untrue.

On Saturday I met with the Young Dads Council, an inspiring unit of young men helping young fathers in impoverished parts of London. All aged 25 or under, they are not angry divorcees, but single dads, willing dads, loving dads. They are role models and mentors that men, boys, and society should be proud of.

Like most dads, they, too, would give their lives in a heartbeat to save their children, but they don’t need to risk falling off a crane to prove it.

So I’ve decided to get involved. I’m going to a Families Need Fathers meeting soon after being approached to attend by their London Chair.

If the fathers' rights groups have something productive to say, and some dads are even prepared to die to have that voice, then surely the very least we can do is listen.