Parental alienation
Parental alienation is a legal trick aimed directly at those cases where parents (overwhelmingly men) are accused of domestic violence and/or child sexual abuse — and it is deployed in their defense. It is not supported by scientific evidence, nor does it have a single clinical and scientific definition.
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.
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.
Parental alienation and the children of gay couples
Minister of Justice Konstantinos Tsiaras loves to invoke arbitrary scientific studies and concepts. In the bill on joint custody, a purely legal text, the internationally disputed term "parental alienation" is reportedly being introduced. [...] it has been extensively criticized by legal circles and mental health experts, who believe it should not be used in child custody court cases by either legal or psychiatric professionals.