Over the last four decades, the work on “parental alienation” and the “parental alienation syndrome” has sparked intense debates in the scientific community, and amongst professionals working with children and families (Lapierre et al., 2020; Rathus, 2020). In the absence of a clear definition, “parental alienation” can be loosely described as a family dynamic whereby a child rejects one parent due to the other parent’s behaviours. In this context, the justifications for the rejection of the parent are seen as trivial, exaggerated, or untrue, and they would often include what is interpreted as false allegations of domestic violence and child abuse (Faller, 1998: Lapierre et al., 2020). This work has been criticized on several grounds (Meier, 2009; Mercer & Drew, 2022), and studies have provided evidence of “parental alienation” and the “parental alienation syndrome” being misused by professionals in situations with a history of domestic violence and child abuse (Lapierre & Côté, 2016; Neilson, 2018; Zaccour, 2018). In these circumstances, women and children may have well-grounded reasons to resist or refuse father-child contact (Holt, 2016; Katz, 2022), but through the “parental alienation” lens their protective strategies are likely to be misinterpreted as “hostile” or “alienating” behaviours (Birchall & Choudhry, 2022; Lapierre & Côté, 2016; Meier, 2019; Sheehy & Boyd, 2020).  

Our work, which was conducted with 911 survivors across 13 countries, demonstrates that this is a global issue that significantly affects many women and children (Lapierre et al., 2023). In this study, 98% of the respondents reported that the “parental alienation” allegations had affected their ability to heal from violence and abuse, and to regain control over their lives. Most respondents also reported that these allegations had affected their confidence in the justice system (97%), their mental health and well-being (98%), their feeling of safety (98%), their physical health (96%), their attendance and performance at work (94%), their financial situation (87%), and their reputation in the community (81%). They had also affected the women’s relationships with the child (71%), the extended family (80%), friends (78%), and a new partner (74%). The respondents also reported that these allegations had affected their children.   

While few countries have adopted “parental alienation” policies (e.g., Brazil), these discourses seem to be increasingly popular amongst professionals involved in child custody and child protection proceedings (Barnett, 2020; Lapierre et al., 2020). Moreover, there have been multiple attempts to include this notion in different policies, including the WHO Index and the DSM (Barnett & Baker, 2013). In this context, growing concerns have been raised regarding “parental alienation” discourses and their misuse in situations with a history of domestic violence and child abuse (Sheehy & Lapierre, 2020). In April 2023, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls published a report, which “examines ways in which family courts in different countries refer to ‘parental alienation’ or similar pseudo-concepts in custody cases, ignoring histories of domestic violence, which may lead to the double victimization of victims of such violence” (p. 2).  Similar concerns have led Spain to adopt a legislation that prohibits the recourse to the “parental alienation syndrome” in court proceedings (Spanish Law 8/2021).