What is parental alienation?
What is Parental Alienation?
CEAP aims to raise awareness of a little-known phenomenon in the general public, which occurs in the context of family conflicts involving child custody, called parental alienation.
It is a family dysfunction characterised by an attempt by one parent to disrupt the bond between a child and the other parent, using a variety of strategies. These include the psychic colonisation of the child to discredit the image of the parent they are trying to exclude, using tactics such as:
- The implementation of false or distorted memories.
- Fear induction.
- The promotion of unwarranted negative feelings towards the other parent.
This situation has serious consequences, not only for the excluded parent, but especially for the child, who suffers profound emotional damage. Science has shown that children who are victims of parental alienation develop severe personality disorders that accompany them throughout their adult life.
The role of justice
Often, misapplication of laws against family and gender-based violence can facilitate such unjustified severing of the bond between parents and children. This, instead of protecting the family, can aggravate the situation, entrenching a process of alienation.
Alienation, Diversity of Ideas and Child Protection
At CEAP we promote the dissemination of parental alienation and encourage a plural and enriching debate that includes all voices, even those that question its scientific basis or deny its existence.
In addition to the profound pain experienced by parents who are prevented from exercising their role, science has shown that children, passive victims of alienating behaviour, develop serious personality disorders that persist into adulthood.
We are convinced that raising social awareness of the seriousness of the issue is a key step that will not only help to eradicate alienating practices, but will also strengthen the system of protection against family violence, providing a solid framework of protection for child victims of any form of abuse.
We assume the duty to protect children, legitimising real allegations and combating false allegations to avoid misrepresentations that favour the impunity of abusers.
