Legal Experts Wary of Calls to Ban ‘Parental Alienation’ Claims From Canadian Courtrooms

Canadian researchers and legal professionals are concerned over a united effort by feminist organizations in Canada to have the use of ‘parental alienation’ claims banned from Canadian courtrooms. On Jan. 23, 250 non-profit organizations led by the National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL), wrote to leaders of the four major political parties and to Justice Minister Arif Virani, calling for the ban, saying parental alienation accusations are used by abusive fathers to get custody of their children. “Courts and custody evaluators consider that reporting family violence or asking for reduced contact between the father and the child are signs of ‘alienation’, that is, brainwashing by the mother to make the child reject the father,” the letter said. “This concept is leading courts across the country to separate children from their mother and force minors, against their will, to live with their father – even when there is a documented history of family violence.”...