‘Child should not become weapon in parental battles’

ACHARITY is campaigning for official recognition in Wales of the concept of “parental alienation”, where one parent unreasonably denies the other access to their children.

Paul Apreda, national manager of Both Parents Matter, cited examples of cases where he believes children had been pressured to write to the Family Court saying they did not want contact with one of their parents.

He said: “Wales is very much out of step with the rapid changes taking place in England to protect children from the emotional abuse of parental alienation.

“We have knowledge of one case where a primary school-age child wrote a letter saying they didn’t want contact with their father, and that their mother’s new partner was a better person. The problem is that the mother’s new partner is under investigation for physically abusing the child. In another case a child used phrases that were not appropriate for their age – a sign that the child was not expressing their own feelings.”

Mr Apreda said the importance of the ‘voice of the child’ – seen as highly important in family courts – could result in children being drawn into adult disputes to side with a controlling parent. He said: “The child becomes a weapon – that is parental alienation. Research shows that ‘parental separation’ is the second most prevalent adverse childhood experience faced by children in Wales.

“The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that it is the ‘right of the child who is separated from one or both parents to maintain personal relations and direct contact with both parents on a regular basis, except if it is contrary to the child’s best interests.’

“In England the Ministry of Justice has recognised the issue and provided a definition: ‘In cases where parents are separated, parental alienation refers to a situation in which one parent, usually the parent with whom the child lives, behaves in a way which creates anxiety in the child, so that it appears the child is opposed to living or spending time with the other parent’.”

A petition has been launched to get similar recognition of the concept in Wales.

The Welsh Government’s Family Justice Network has previously said it would not recognise the concept as it would “undermine the fundamental principle of the family justice system that the welfare of the child was paramount”, although the matter is due to be considered again shortly.

Cardiff family psychologist Dr Sue Whitcombe said: “The prevalence of parental alienation in contested child arrangement cases has been consistently reported over the last 20 years to be around 25%.

“The rejection by the child, alongside a number of co-existent behaviours are symptomatic of the child’s psychological distress.

“In many cases the child will have experienced significant emotional harm and in severe cases there is evidence of child psychological abuse.

“In 2015, Cafcass Cymru [the Welsh Government’s Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service] acknowledged that some parents seek to influence their child and that emotional harm can occur as a parent seeks to alienate a child from their other parent. However, this limited recognition of alienation fails to acknowledge the complexity of the process and dynamics involved.

“Parental alienation exists on a spectrum from mild through to severe. Alienated children are more likely to experience significant mental health and relationship difficulties throughout their life.”