The culture of contact at any cost and the best interest of the child
☞ Despite the fact that the theories of the originator of "parental alienation," Richard Gardner, have been discredited by the wider legal and scientific community, some lawyers, mental health professionals, and self-proclaimed experts of questionable ethical and professional credibility (Dreyfus 2022) quickly identified a repugnant professional opportunity [1] (Wyeth 2021).☞ With the support of men's rights groups (male supremacist groups) and religious fundamentalists seeking to preserve the family as a domain of absolute male dominance (Behre 2015), they developed a new version — removing the word "syndrome" — which broadly and vaguely encompasses any behavior that could be considered to exclude one parent. Even the tender and caring attitude of the preferred parent can be stigmatized as alienating behavior (Meier 2020), while various proponents of the theory even speak of subconscious influence, without naming specific behaviors (Childress).☞ The description of "alienating" behaviors in the literature is so broad, vague, and subjective that it becomes impossible to refute allegations of "parental alienation" once the theory is accepted in the courtroom. In essence, "parental alienation" is nothing more than a counterattack strategy used to deliberately create confusion in custody court cases (Oppenheim 2020). Confusion that exploits the — naturalized within patriarchy — suspicion with which all women are treated (Wyeth 2021).☞ The goal of "parental alienation" is to make it appear that abusive fathers are the victims and safe, protective mothers are the malicious abusers (Wyeth 2021). Although proponents of "parental alienation" use gender-neutral language, there are empirical studies proving that the consequences of its use in court cases have a clearly gendered dimension (Meier 2019).☞ Due to its success as a legal tool for rewarding abusive men, the repugnant, profitable market surrounding "parental alienation" continues to expand (Schmidt 2019). There are many law firms that now offer services for "alienated" parents. More and more psychotherapists are emerging who claim to specialize in Parental Alienation (Wyeth 2021). Others, self-proclaimed "experts" — without formal qualifications (Summers et al 2022) — attempt to influence lawmakers.☞ However, professional opportunism and systemic misogyny are not the only factors driving the growth of the "parental alienation" industry. There is also the stereotypical belief that children absolutely need the presence of both parents, of both genders, for their proper development, and, above all, that the "right to two parents" outweighs the right — and also the obligation — to protect the child from abuse (Wyeth 2021). An obligation that has been ratified through international agreements and International Conventions for the Protection of Children's Rights (GREVIO 2021).The Minister of Justice, Kostas Tsiaras, on the eve of the vote on Law 4800/2021, explains on ERT that, in his opinion, children raised in single-parent families have psychological problems and cannot cope with the difficulties of life.JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwd2lkdGglM0QlMjI1NjAlMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjIzMTUlMjIlMjBzcmMlM0QlMjJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnd3dy55b3V0dWJlLW5vY29va2llLmNvbSUyRmVtYmVkJTJGeFUyRi1mbzFycHMlM0ZzdGFydCUzRDIwOCUyMiUyMHRpdGxlJTNEJTIyWW91VHViZSUyMHZpZGVvJTIwcGxheWVyJTIyJTIwYWxsb3clM0QlMjJhY2NlbGVyb21ldGVyJTNCJTIwYXV0b3BsYXklM0IlMjBjbGlwYm9hcmQtd3JpdGUlM0IlMjBlbmNyeXB0ZWQtbWVkaWElM0IlMjBneXJvc2NvcGUlM0IlMjBwaWN0dXJlLWluLXBpY3R1cmUlMjIlMjBhbGxvd2Z1bGxzY3JlZW4lM0QlMjIlMjIlM0UlM0MlMkZpZnJhbWUlM0U=☞ Once this distorted hierarchy of the child's rights infiltrates the courtroom, any effort by the mother to protect her children from an abusive father is stigmatized as an act of alienation. It is no longer considered the mother's primary obligation to ensure the best interest of the child, but rather to facilitate the child's contact with the father, regardless of whether the latter engages in abusive behavior (Dore 2004).☞ Most concerning is that it has become evident in practice that the influence of the profitable "industry" of "parental alienation" is very strong in court cases concerning parental responsibility. So strong, in fact, that it overshadows the numerous academic studies (Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law 2020) that point out that "parental alienation" undermines the child-centered foundations of Family Law and violates International Conventions for the Protection of Children's Rights.☞ In Great Britain, where in 2021 "parental alienation" was removed from the official guidance (Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance 2021) for the Domestic Abuse Act, the Ministry of Justice published an official report (Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance Response 2021) outlining the risks to children's safety from the widespread use of the "parental alienation" ideology in Family Courts. The institutional belief that violence inflicted by the father, either on the child or in the child's presence, is less harmful than the interruption of contact with the abusive father, makes it impossible for women to protect their children from men they know very well to be dangerous — both to the children and to themselves (Wyeth 2021).New Democracy MP Giannis Loverdos explains in Parliament, during the vote on Law 4800/2021, how a father can be a bad husband, beat, cheat on, and abuse his wife, yet still remain a good parent.JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwd2lkdGglM0QlMjI1NjAlMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjIzMTUlMjIlMjBzcmMlM0QlMjJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnd3dy55b3V0dWJlLmNvbSUyRmVtYmVkJTJGRk5qR3MybWxZcDQlMjIlMjB0aXRsZSUzRCUyMllvdVR1YmUlMjB2aWRlbyUyMHBsYXllciUyMiUyMGZyYW1lYm9yZGVyJTNEJTIyMCUyMiUyMGFsbG93JTNEJTIyYWNjZWxlcm9tZXRlciUzQiUyMGF1dG9wbGF5JTNCJTIwY2xpcGJvYXJkLXdyaXRlJTNCJTIwZW5jcnlwdGVkLW1lZGlhJTNCJTIwZ3lyb3Njb3BlJTNCJTIwcGljdHVyZS1pbi1waWN0dXJlJTIyJTIwYWxsb3dmdWxsc2NyZWVuJTNFJTNDJTJGaWZyYW1lJTNF
Footnotes
[1] In economics there is the concept of a repugnant market. This refers to a case where there is demand for a service or product, but the creation of a legal market to serve that demand would be considered unethical. Slavery, for example, was — and remains — the absolute repugnant market. In recent decades, the formation of a repugnant market around Family Courts has been allowed to take shape, and recognizing this is key to understanding why "parental alienation" has no place in any legislation on domestic violence.
Bibliography | Sources
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