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Parental Alienation

Sonia Sodha explores the concept of “parental alienation” and asks how a contested psychological theory has become more common in the family courts.

Splitting up where children are involved is tricky. Especially when it ends up in the family courts. It’s even more tricky when a child decides they don’t want a relationship with one of the parents.

Over the last two decades a controversial psychological concept has emerged to describe a situation where children - for no apparent reason - decide they don’t want to see one parent. It’s called parental alienation.

Women’s rights organisations argue parental alienation is used to gaslight abused women. Fathers’ rights organisations claim that some mothers make up allegations of abuse to prevent them from seeing their children. And children are caught in the middle.

Sonia Sodha explores the polarizing concept of “parental alienation” and asks how a contested psychological theory has evolved into an increasingly common allegation in the UK family courts.

Producer: Gemma Newby

Available now

28 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Mon 25 Oct 2021 20:30
  • Sun 31 Oct 2021 21:30

Podcast