The domestic abuse bill currently before parliament is being watched very closely by domestic abuse support networks throughout the world. It is potentially landmark legislation that could help to alleviate some of the torment and suffering that predominantly women and children experience daily. Yet there is one proposed amendment that could undermine the positive aspects of the bill – the push to recognize a dubious notion called “parental alienation” as a form of domestic abuse.
Parental alienation’s origins began in the 1980s with a rogue psychiatrist named Richard Gardner. Gardner had an unusual obsession with child sexual abuse. He believed that there were certain natural sexual inclinations between adults and children, and that modern societies were engaged in unnecessary hysterics over pedophilia. In order to prevent fathers from facing any consequences for child sexual abuse, he invented a concept called Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) to be used in courtrooms. His goal was to prevent accusations by mothers of child abuse by fathers from being believed. Read more here.
