Baroness Helic of the UK Posted an Article on 2/26/21 Entitled
"Parental Alienation Should Have No Place in our Law or Legal System"
This is a Response
With all due respect to Baroness Helic, this article is basically a reiteration of many common myths about parental alienation (PA) that proliferate the media, internet and unfortunately the legislative arena as well. These myths and misconceptions have been refuted many times, but the myths continue to be promoted by groups with a social agenda.
I will answer a few of the claims that are made in this article.
You can read more about these and other PA myths at: Myths Debunked - PAIs Real. You can learn more about the agenda and tactics of those who deny the research base of PA at: PA Critics Exposed - PAIs Real.
Baroness Helic writes that “If we take protecting children in the UK seriously, then we must look to the experience of the US with parental alienation. It shows us quite how dangerous this concept is, and why it has no place in UK law or our legal system.” Any legitimate claim can be misused. False PA claims exist just as false abuse claims exist. The solution is not to flippantly dismiss the validity of parental alienation; rather, there is a need for highly trained judges and forensic evaluators who know how to differentiate between genuine and false claims. Many of your distinguished members of Parliament have eloquently espoused this position in their support of your Domestic Abuse Bill. Someone who is truly concerned about child welfare should be worried about addressing PA in effective legislation. From the other side of the sea, I commend these members of Parliament who have the courage to stand up to special interest groups in order to protect children from the scourges of parental alienation.
I will answer a few of the claims that are made in this article.
- “Despite there being no scientific evidence for it, PA has become a dominant force in American courts as the standard defense against domestic abuse allegations.”
- “To understand PA and quite why it is so problematic, we need to understand its roots. In the 1980s, Richard Gardner, an American psychiatrist with extreme views concerning pedophilia and child sexual abuse, came up with the term ‘PA syndrome’.”
- “According to Gardner, all children reporting abuse in custody litigation had been manipulated into fearing or hating one parent – usually the father – by the other.”
- “Yet despite a lack of evidence, PA is successfully used as a stock defense by perpetrators in legitimate abuse cases in American courts. When fathers claim alienation, American courts are more than twice as likely to disbelieve mothers’ claims of any type of abuse, and almost four times less likely to believe mothers’ claims of child abuse.”
You can read more about these and other PA myths at: Myths Debunked - PAIs Real. You can learn more about the agenda and tactics of those who deny the research base of PA at: PA Critics Exposed - PAIs Real.
Baroness Helic writes that “If we take protecting children in the UK seriously, then we must look to the experience of the US with parental alienation. It shows us quite how dangerous this concept is, and why it has no place in UK law or our legal system.” Any legitimate claim can be misused. False PA claims exist just as false abuse claims exist. The solution is not to flippantly dismiss the validity of parental alienation; rather, there is a need for highly trained judges and forensic evaluators who know how to differentiate between genuine and false claims. Many of your distinguished members of Parliament have eloquently espoused this position in their support of your Domestic Abuse Bill. Someone who is truly concerned about child welfare should be worried about addressing PA in effective legislation. From the other side of the sea, I commend these members of Parliament who have the courage to stand up to special interest groups in order to protect children from the scourges of parental alienation.