As the term “parental alienation” is gaining popularity in the court system, it is becoming more and more important to ensure that the term does not mask intimate partner violence (IPV). Unfortunately, the defense to a parental alienation allegation can sometimes be misused to draw attention away from IPV, with detrimental results for families and children experiencing IPV.

The concept of “Alienation” has a grounds for reversing parenting rights has been receiving increasing attention over the last few years. As stated in SMP Law’s post on parental alienation “What is Alienation?"  a common theme of alienation is “a child is expressing extreme negative feelings about a parent that are not supported by their experiences”.