Publication

Parental Alienation: A Rational Approach

NY State Office for Prevention of Domestic Violence Newsletter, June 1, 2009

The fact that divorcing parents often badmouth each other to the children can not justify the damage done to abused and endangered children by PAS and PA accusations. A more rational and fair approach to the claim of PA is presented.  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

La Jolla Mom Says She Kidnapped Daughter To Protect Her

KGTV 10 News, April 23, 2009

When the family court gave overnight visits to the father, despite his known use of child pornography, Joyce Murphy took her daughter and ran. "I thought, either I go to jail or I protect my child." Murphy and her daughter were caught, the mother jailed; the daughter returned to the father's custody. Now, six years later, Murphy's ex-husband is behind bars after molesting 3 other young girls. Murphy feels vindicated, but it's bittersweet. "I blame the entire family court system," she said, "because they are not held accountable."  More

Action Alert

Governors: Don't Be Fooled by Parental Alienation

Parental alienation is a fictitious syndrome used by lawyers to get their clients off the hook when they're charged with abuse. Its use causes harm to abused children and undermines the integrity of the legal system. Tell your governor the truth about this bogus theory.  More

News Article

Several bills seek to reform family courts

Capitol Weekly, February 12, 2009

Democratic lawmakers are crafting a package of bills to reform family courts in California. One Assemblymember is seeking an audit of the family court system, while another has submitted a bill that would limit the types of testimony that can be used in custody proceedings. Several other Democratic legislators are currently evaluating whether to introduce bills addressing other facets of the family courts.
  More

Press Release

Experts Warn About Dangers of Deprogramming Treatment

Specialists in childhood trauma and therapy from the Leadership Council have grave concerns about the ethics of deprogramming treatment described in a recent article published in the Globe and Mail (see: Judge Blocks Sending Teen for Deprogramming Treatment, Feb 7, 2009).  More

News Article

Shooting the Messenger In Child Abuse Cases

Connecticut Law Tribune, August 25, 2008

In a story headlined "Mom Gets Daughter, Dad Gets $3.5 Million" (July 14, 2008), the Connecticut Law Tribune reported on the "malicious prosecution" case brought by a father against his child's mother, seeking damages for what he claims was her malicious allegation that he sexually abused his daughter.  More

News Article

Family Battles Questionable Custody Decision

WSMV -TV News, May 18, 2007

A middle Tennessee family said they have proof that a local judge granted the custody of a child to his sexually abusive father. (this story includes a video of the news broadcast)  More

News Article

Girl, Interrupted

San Francisco Weekly, December 18, 2002

Alanna Krause believes that much of her hellish childhood could have been avoided. Now she's suing her father, her therapist, and her lawyer in an effort to prove it. How did it come to this?   More

Press Release

Legal Community Rejects Parental Alienation Syndrome

The Leadership Council On Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence, July 12, 2006

Two recent high profile legal publications have rejected “Parental Alienation Syndrome” (PAS), a controversial label often used to discredit allegations of child abuse or domestic violence in family courts. According to PAS theory, children's disclosures of abuse by one parent are reinterpreted as evidence of “brainwashing” by the other parent. The solution proposed by PAS theory is to immediately award custody to the alleged child abuser.   More

Information and Analysis

The Truth About Parental Alienation

February 23, 2007

Proponents of Parental Alienation portray parental alienation as a destructive family dynamic, usually manifesting during custody battles, in which one parent purportedly turns the child’s sentiments against the other parent. Failure to recognize and correct this dynamic by ensuring that the child has a relationship with both parents, they claim, will cause great harm to the child. Indeed, nothing can be further from the truth. Parental Alienation is a discredited, pseudo-psychological theory whose application in custody determinations has caused great harm to children.  More

Magazine Article

Jana's View: Parental Alienation

Phoenix Magazine, May 1, 2006

Abusive fathers are convincing the courts that mothers are "coaching" their kids to fear their fathers. It's called Parental Alienation Syndrome and its a serious issue.  More

Resources

Courageous Kids Network

Courageous Kids Network, October 1, 2006

We, the Courageous Kids Network, are a growing group of young people, whose childhood was shattered by biased and inhumane court rulings, which forced us to live with our abusive parent, while restricting or sometimes completely eliminating contact with our loving and protective parent.  More

Magazine Article

Who´s Protecting Whom? the Criminalization of Protective Parents

Off Our Backs, July 1, 1995

When most of us imagine divorce/custody cases that involve a child who is sexually abused by one of the parents, we see a pretty awful set of images. Until recently, it was widely believed in those cases, the mothers typically end up with the child, and the abuser, the father, is dragged off to jail. Over the past few years, with all the media attention on False Memories/Parental Alienation Syndrome, public opinion has been changing with respect to incest. What once appeared to be a clear-cut situation, has now become an area of great controversy and debate. The most tragic casualties of this debate over child abuse are the children themselves, who are currently being sexually abused and are not trusted or believed when they disclose because of the grave suspicion that has been cast upon all who dare to speak about the abuse. But children are not the only ones to suffer. This backlash has also hit mothers who are trying to protect their children from abuse.  More