VICTORY! Thanks to the actions of Stop Family Violence Activists, only 2 Governors signed proclamations proclaiming April 25 as Parental Alienation Awareness Day!

THE FOLLOWING ACTION ALERT IS EXPIRED

Governor offices across the country are being asked  to sign a proclamation declaring April 25th as Parental Alienation Awareness Day.  Proponents portray parental alienation as a form of child abuse that arises during custody proceedings when one parent turns the child against the other parent. 

ACT NOW!! Urge your governor not to be fooled by this rhetoric! 
Parental Alienation is an unfounded theory that has caused great harm to children!

The National District Attorneys Association says Parental Alienation Syndrome “is an unproven theory that can threaten the integrity of the criminal justice system and the safety of abused children.”  The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges rejects parental alienation as a “discredited” diagnosis that has “no grounding in reality”, the American Psychological Association has said parental alienation syndrome  “lacks evidence” and the The American Bar Association’s Children’s Legal Rights Journal has said that “as a matter of science, law and policy” parental alienation’s use should be “inadmissible” in American courts. 

Parental alienation “theory” says that allegations of abuse arising during custody proceedings should be regarded as suspect and seen as the vindictive parent’s attempt to pit the child against the other parent.  In reality, parental alienation is a legal strategy used by lawyers to get their clients off the hook when they’re accused of bad parenting or abuse. 

Parental alienation deflects the court’s attention away from investigating the abuse allegations and instead focuses attention onto the motives of the person making the allegation.  As a result, evidence of abuse – even medical exams and testimony of experts – is rejected out of hand as evidence of the “vindictive” parent’s campaign of denigration, rather than viewing it as the protective parent’s reasonable actions to protect their child from harm.

Largely as a result of the mistaken acceptance of parental alienation, courts order an estimated 58,000 children each year to have unsupervised contact with their abusers.   Children placed in the custody of their abusers have committed suicide; others have run away, and countless others have endured the abuse and are permanently traumatized.  In recent years, children placed in custody of their abusers have been coming forward to tell their stories and to warn of the danger surrounding the fictitious syndrome. 

ACT NOW!  Urge your governor not to be fooled by Parental Alienation proponents.  Ask your governor to reject the proclamation for Parental Alienation Awareness Day, and instead urge them to take actions to ensure that abuse allegations are thoroughly investigated before custody decisions are made so that children stay safe.