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UN ‘Parental Alienation’ Plan Will Enable Child Abusers and Worsen Child Maltreatment Around the World
WASHINGTON / December 12, 2022 – Globally, over half of all children ages 2-17 years – one billion children — experience emotional, physical, or sexual abuse each year (1). The consequences of child maltreatment include impaired lifelong physical and mental health and can slow a country’s economic development, according to the World Health Organization (2).
Scientific research reveals the following facts:
- Men and women are equally likely to commit domestic violence (3).
- Mothers and fathers engage in child abuse at similar rates (4).
- Child abuse can include efforts to harm a child’s relationship with the other parent, sometimes referred to as “parental alienation” (5).
But a recent United Nations Call for Inputs dishonestly denies all three of these facts. Titled, “Custody Cases, Violence Against Women, and Violence Against Children” (6), the UN document:
- Refers to “violence against women” 12 times, but systematically ignores “violence against men.”
- Makes the claim that the “vast majority of those accused of ‘alienating’ their child while alleging abuse are women,” even though a recent review concluded that parental alienation is an “equal opportunity offense” affecting both fathers and mothers (7).
- Ignores the fact that in nearly 1,200 trial and appellate cases, judges have ruled that evidence of possible parental alienation was relevant and admissible (8).
One analysis of the UN Call for Inputs describes its claims as “misleading or blatantly false,” which represent a “purposeful misrepresentation” of the research (9).
Scientific studies have documented the long-term harmful effects of parental alienation on persons’ mental health (10). The effect of the UN plan would be to enable child abusers and worsen the global problem of child mistreatment. This would undermine and vitiate the intent and purpose of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (11).UN Member Nations must not allow this perverse project to move forward.
Citations:
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/291948887_Global_Prevalence_of_Past-year_Violence_Against_Children_A_Systematic_Review_and_Minimum_Estimates
- https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/child-maltreatment
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261543769_References_Examining_Assaults_by_Women_on_Their_Spouses_or_Male_Partners_An_Updated_Annotated_Bibliography
- https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/cm2020.pdf
- https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fdev0001404
- https://www.ohchr.org/en/calls-for-input/2022/call-inputs-custody-cases-violence-against-women-and-violence-against-children
- https://ifstudies.org/blog/new-research-on-the-science-of-parental-alienation
- http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/fcre.12475
- http://pasg.info/app/uploads/2022/12/Response-to-UN-Special-Rapporteur-2022-11-21.pdf
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9026878/#:~:text=The%20alienating%20parent%20was%20identified,father%20in%2025%25%20of%20cases.
- https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child
