Articles
The Frequency of False Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse: A Critical Review
A recent study from the USA, which examines a wide range of other studies and their methodology, and concludes that the rate of unfounded allegations of child sexual abuse is small but cannot be determined with the available data.
Denial of Domestic Violence in the Courts: Empirical Analysis of the Phenomenon and Proposals for Addressing It
In Family Law cases, judges very often fail to take into account testimonies of domestic violence and child abuse. In many cases, judges even grant custody to the abusive parent (in the overwhelming majority of cases, the father) despite very serious and credible testimonies and evidence of abuse.
Parental Alienation Syndrome: Is It Scientific?
A thorough deconstruction of parental alienation theory, citing numerous scientific studies that refute its individual assumptions, by Stephanie J. Dallam.
The Fraud of "Parental Alienation"
The theory that, in the context of contentious divorces, children make false allegations of abuse against their fathers—allegations instilled in them by their mothers in order to "alienate" them—has no scientific basis. And its adoption by the courts leads to a flagrant violation of children's rights.
One year of mandatory joint custody: The ongoing ordeal of abused women and children
One year has passed since the law on mandatory joint custody came into force, which sparked reactions from the very first moment Minister of Justice Mr. Tsiaras submitted it to parliament, and the results are now evident. This tvxs.gr report documents tragic cases in which custody is granted to a father who has abused the child's mother but often also the child itself, even involving the child's forcible removal by the authorities, at night.
UN Recommendation: legally prohibit the use of "parental alienation"
The Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, submitted a report to the Human Rights Council on April 13, 2023, in which she condemns the use of the pseudoscientific concept of "parental alienation," and related concepts, in custody court cases.
The World Health Organization (WHO) refuses to include parental alienation in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11)
In a recent statement (December 2022), the WHO explains the reasons why parental alienation was removed from the term index of the category titled "Problems Associated with Caregiver-Child Relationship" in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD).
Brazil 2022: The expert committee of the UN Human Rights Council calls on the government to withdraw the parental alienation law
GENEVA (November 4, 2022) -- Experts from the UN Human Rights Council have called on Brazil's new government to repeal the law criminalizing "parental alienation" (2010), which leads to discrimination against women and girls, particularly in custody court cases.
The UN Commission on the Status of Women takes a stand against the use of parental alienation in legal proceedings
On March 17, 2022, at the 66th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Reem Alsalem, convened a working group aiming for the committee to openly declare its opposition to the use of the pseudoscientific and regressive theory of "parental alienation" in child custody court cases.
UK 2021: The use of parental alienation theory puts children at risk
Once the term parental alienation enters a custody case, neither the reasons why the child refuses contact nor, most importantly, the allegations of domestic violence are examined with due care—instead, they are immediately labeled as false and the product of manipulation.
Parental alienation as a legal trick to reward abusers
The results of a 19-year study (2000-2019) conducted by the Law School of Brunel University (London, UK) show that abusive husbands and fathers gain time with their children, as well as access to the abused mother, by accusing her of parental alienation.
The culture of contact at any cost and the best interest of the child
At the foundation of "parental alienation" theory lies the belief that the "right to two parents" outweighs the right — and indeed the obligation — to protect the child from abuse. The widespread belief in courts that violence inflicted by the father, whether against the child or in the child's presence, is less harmful than the interruption of contact with the abusive father, makes it impossible for mothers (in the overwhelming majority) to protect their children from men who know very well that they are dangerous to them, as well as to the mothers themselves.
Parental Alienation: the repugnant, profitable "industry" with the child as victim
According to the principles of child-friendly justice, the judicial system is obligated to seriously take into account children's views. This obligation contradicts the basic principles of "parental alienation" theory, and in particular the arbitrary belief that most allegations of domestic violence and sexual abuse are false.
The core claims of parental alienation theory are refuted by a wealth of significant empirical research
Important empirical studies refute the core claims of parental alienation theory.
What is the theory of parental alienation?
Parental alienation was first mentioned as a term in 1980, in the USA, by Richard Gardner. From then until today, there is still no single clinical and scientific definition, while the way "experts" approach it in the literature is constantly changing. A very broad description, however, that is most often found, is that parental alienation occurs when a child rejects a parent and resists contact with them without reasonable cause.
Dangerous games with mandatory joint custody of children and the unscientific «Parental Alienation»
Despite what is claimed in Greece by its supporters, Parental Alienation Syndrome is not recognized as a disorder by the medical and legal community, and Gardner's theories, along with the related research, have received widespread criticism for their lack of scientific basis.
In the Name of the Father
Even before the draft of the new law was revealed, it was evident that the "parental alienation syndrome" theory was employed by the men's rights lobby as a scientific argument in support of the reform. According to the theory, the "syndrome" occurs when a child becomes alienated from a parent as a result of the psychological manipulation of another parent, particularly in the context of conflictual family separation.
Tsiaras Law: Pseudoscience and the inspirers of «reunification camps» in Parliament
As for what happens when ideas about "parental alienation" are put into practice, in an extensive related feature titled "When a Child Becomes a Weapon," published in The Atlantic magazine in December 2020, the founder of the Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma also describes Family Bridges as "torture camps for children."