‘I was punished for telling the truth’: how allegations of parental alienation are used to silence, sideline and disempower survivors of domestic abuse in family law proceedings

Abstract

This article presents empirical findings from a research study conducted by Women’s Aid Federation England and Queen Mary University of London looking at domestic abuse and the family courts. The study found that allegations of parental alienation were frequently being used during child arrangements proceedings to obscure and undermine allegations of domestic abuse. These findings are presented against a backdrop of a recent revival of ideas around alienation in the family court in England and Wales. The article highlights a growing body of evidence demonstrating the gendered assumptions underlying parental alienation as a concept, and argues that the concept should not be accepted without analysis and understanding of the harmful impact it has on survivors of domestic abuse and their children.<br /><br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>‘Parental alienation’ has been increasingly invoked in the family courts in recent years, but there is a dearth of robust empirical studies to back up the concept and no reliable data on its prevalence.</li><br /><li>Studies demonstrate the gendered assumptions and myths underlying discourses of parental alienation, and the increasing use of these discourses to obscure and undermine domestic abuse in child arrangements proceedings.</li><br /><li>Theories of parental alienation, no matter how they are packaged or theorised, should not be accepted without analysis of the impact they have on survivors of domestic abuse and their children.</li><br /><li>This article contains an overview of the findings of a research project involving survivors of domestic abuse and their experiences of the family court system which evidences the aforementioned assertions.</li></ul>