What will it mean when Parental Alienation is recognized as domestic violence?
16 fall 2017 PSG
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W
hile most discussion of parental alienation revolves around Family Court, what if it were the Criminal Court that held some of the solutions we so desperately need?
In the Spring 2017 issue of Parent Survival Guide, Dr. Jennifer Harman presented a salient argument that Parental Alienation is a form of domestic violence. Imagine our journey towards a future free of institutionalized parental alienation as a game of Snakes and Ladders, and Dr. Harman’s strategy identifies and ingenious shortcut we so desperately need:
• We have a ways to go to prove the devastating impact of parental
alienation.
• However, the impact of domestic violence has been widely recognized.
• So if we can demonstrate that parental alienation is domestic violence,
we do not have to separately prove its impact (even though we will).
• Once it is seen as a form of domestic violence, parental alienation
qualifies for all sorts of associated protections and benefits.
Dr. Harman’s’ article summarizes years of research. The next stop for a growing cohort of her colleagues is to have parental alienation formally recognized as domestic violence.
In the meantime, this progress begs a question: what could it actually mean?
by the Editorial Team
Photo credit: bortn76
Is it criminal?
The cred