News Article

Child abuse: when family courts get it wrong

Christian Science Monitor, October 14, 2009

Even when physical or sexual abuse of children is alleged during a divorce, American family courts routinely award custody to the parent with an established record of domestic violence restraining orders, child abuse, neglect, alcoholism, addiction, dangerous mental illness, while the protective parent is labeled an alienator for bringing the abuse to the court's attention.  More

News Article

Scholar's past adds intrigue to student loan fraud trial

Anchorage Daily News, April 14, 2009

According to the indictment Yould used a second identity to apply for subsidized student loans, even though she had reached her lifetime limit. She then used some of that money to start a business and boost her investment portfolio, it says. But Yould's friends and family say she created the second identity with government approval to hide from a stalker.  More

Action Alert

Petition: Put Polanski in Prison

October 1, 2009

Roman Polanski raped a child. He pled guilty and then fled the country to avoid sentencing. The law should not reward a fugitive for his successful efforts to evade justice. Demand accountability. Sign the petition to put Pulanski in prison!  More

Opinion

Give It Up, Whoopie

Wendy Murphy, October 1, 2009

I tried to be clear in my first letter in the hope you would simply apologize for saying Roman Polanski didn't plead guilty to "rape rape". But in an awkward attempt to put out the flames of outrage, you made things worse by trying to "explain" yourself. You said that what you MEANT was that because Polanski admitted to the charge...  More

News Article

HI: Residents protest family court

The Garden Island, September 14, 2009

A protest against Family Court attracted attention of well-wishers who honked their horns at sign-holders most of Thursday morning. The purpose of the rallies is to inform the community that the Kaua‘i Family Court and its court-appointed experts are not doing enough to protect children from abuse and domestic violence  More

News Article

Judge Dismisses Abuse Allegations

Des Moines Register, August 20, 2009

An Iowa judge dismissed abuse allegations made by a 6-year-old girl who called 911 while in her father's care in Council Bluffs, paving the way for the girl to return home to her mother from an emergency shelter.
The judge did so on the recommendation of a child-protective worker who found the case lacked sufficient evidence to move forward.   More

Publication : Master's Thesis

Disciplining Divorcing Parents: The Social Construction of Parental Alienation Syndrome

Department of Sociology, Queen's University, September 1, 2008

This thesis explores the development of the concepts of “parental alienation syndrome” and “false allegations” in the context of custody and access, as ‘social problems’. It analyzes the course of these concepts through an historical account of Canada’s divorce arena and recent changes to custody and access law, analyzing the reasoning and motives of the major claimsmakers: the Fathers’ Right Movement, medical experts, the legal arena and the counter-claims of Feminist activists. It examines the role of the supervised access facilitator in the construction of the concepts as ‘social problems’. The theories of psychiatrist Richard Gardner are examined in particular, due to their pivotal role in the advancement of the claimsmakers’ goals. Finally, empirical studies are reviewed and analyzed, demonstrating how the concepts of “parental alienation syndrome” and “false allegations” have mutated and permeated the domain of divorce and access in Western society.  More

Presentation

Parental Alienation Syndrome in Family Courts

Presented at the Child Sexual Abuse: Justice Response or Alternative Resolution Conference, May 1, 2003

The question of allegations of sexual abuse in Family Law cases is a complex issue. It is becoming increasingly common to see Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) invoked as an explanation for such allegations, with the implication that the allegations are false. This presentation will review some of the literature on both issues - false allegations and PAS – in the context of Family Law disputes. It will examine the concept of PAS and will suggest that it has neither validity nor utility.
  More

Presentation

Parental Alienation Syndrome Revisited

Presented at the Child Sexual Abuse: Justice Response or Alternative Resolution Conference , May 1, 2003

In family courts, the ramifications of recognising abuse as a reason for supervising or aborting contact have led to laws which are ambiguous, expert opinions which are not based in science and outcries from parents of both sexes about the unfairness of the system. The concept of alienation has gained ascendancy in family courts around the world particularly over the last five years. While most professionals familiar with the courts’ workings recognise that children can and do side with one or other parent, especially in the early stages of separation, little was done to research this. Indeed most of the papers written address Parent Alienation Syndrome, not parent alienation, and distinguished researchers in the field have only just turned their attention to the problem.  More

Publication

Parental Alienation Syndrome: A Paradigm For Child Abuse In Austrailian Family Law

Paper presented at Child Sexual Abuse: Justice Response or Alternative Resolution Conference, Australian Inst. of Criminology, May 1, 2003

This paper argues that the absence of a publicly funded investigative capacity in the Family Court of Australia when there are allegations of child abuse by a parent, creates the conditions for the de facto operating presumption of the Parental Alienation Syndrome paradigm in the courts. This paradigm, at its simplest, insists that claims of serious child abuse are invented and that children’s statements and manifestations of fear are the outcome of parental coaching. Without a publicly funded professional child protection investigative service available to inform the family court, the private adversarial system of family law commonly fails to substantiate allegations of child abuse, thereby systematically producing the outcome that child abuse allegations will be deemed to be false. Safety for children in family law proceedings who are subject to abuse depends on access to a professional investigative service to inform the court, and a redefinition of a child’s best interests in the Family Law Act to give safety the highest value.  More

Newsletter

Parental Alienation Syndrome and Parental Alienation

New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence Bulletin

A mother who raises the issue of domestic violence or child sexual abuse during child custody litigation may find herself accused of parental alienation syndrome or parental alienation. These accusations often lead family courts to focus on the mother’s motives and unwillingness to co-parent, discount what she says about abuse, and, all too often, order the children into custody or unsupervised visitation with their abusive father.  More

News Article

Dysfunctional Family Court System may be Doing More Harm than Good

Huffington Post, June 14, 2009

The frequency with which children are allowed to have unsupervised contact with physically or sexually abusive parents after divorce in this country is alarming and worthy of the public's attention. According to the Center for Judicial Excellence, "Not since the Catholic Church pedophile scandal has the United States seen this level of institutional collusion and corruption harming innocent children."  More

Action Alert

Protect Damon from Abuse

My youngest son, Damon has been reporting long-term sexual, physical and emotional abuse by his father and the San Diego Family Court will not even do the minimum required by law to investigate it. They won't allow him to testify and his court-appointed attorney justsays it is court policy to reunify children with abusers. On June 30th, the judge is planning to give the father custody.  More

News Article

Mother fighting system that dismisses child sex abuse claims

Auburn Journal, May 17, 2009

Aliyah Bedwell is the focus of a home video during which she talks about instances that strongly suggest she is the victim of sexual abuse. Her mother, Connie Bedwell, says she recorded the video because it is just one of many scenarios in which her daughter has made extremely upsetting comments regarding her father. The parents are separated and a judge has given the father full custody of his daughter. Currently, Bedwell can only see her daughter during supervised visits. When asked why, Bedwell did not elaborate but said that many officials do not believe her story.   More

Journal Article

The Science of Child Sexual Abuse

Science, April 22, 2005

Child sexual abuse (CSA) involving sexual contact between an adult and a child has been reported by approximately 20% of women and 5-10% of men worldwide. A history of CSA leads to serious mental and physical health problems, substance abuse, and criminality in adulthood. Scientific study of CSA is currently under-funded, obscured by contentious forensic controversy, and fragmented by discipline. From public health, economic, ethical, and scientific perspectives, we recommend interdisciplinary consensus panels and increased intellectual investment in CSA research, prevention, intervention, and education.  More