If Parliament wants a serious conversation about parental alienation, it should start by inviting experts into the room.
The recent response from the Ministry of Justice to the PAPA Lost Years campaign and BBC coverage highlighting the devastating impact of family court delays was a missed opportunity.
Instead of engaging with the substance of the concerns being raised by separated families, attention was diverted towards whether parental alienation is recognised as a “syndrome”.
We have now seen similar remarks repeated in Parliament, after a discussion on whether all allegations of abuse made by women should be believed.
We find it extremely odd that our recent Family Justice Transparency Report wasn’t referenced in this discussion, given the findings that 90% of allegations made in family court are dismissed as unfounded, when judicially assessed.
How can a discussion be had on this topic without referencing the largest dataset currently available?
The current framing is both very misleading and entirely unhelpful.
The debate around parental alienation has long moved beyond the question of whether it is a “syndrome”.
For decades, professionals, researchers, psychologists, and family court practitioners have focused on the behaviours, dynamics, and impacts associated with parental alienation, supported by a substantial body of international research and scientific literature.
The real issues facing families today are weaponised false allegations, lengthy court delays, inconsistent interventions, inadequate enforcement of child arrangements, and the lasting harm caused when children become caught in high-conflict disputes.
These are the issues parents are asking policymakers to address.
By repeatedly focusing on terminology rather than substance, those in power risk creating confusion, deepening division, and shutting down meaningful discussion.
Children’s welfare deserves evidence-led policy, informed debate, and genuine engagement with experts, not political soundbites that distract from the challenges families face every day.
If the Ministry of Justice and Parliament truly want to improve outcomes for children, they must move beyond outdated talking points and start listening to the professionals who have spent decades researching and working in this field.
We are ready for that conversation. 💪❤️♻️