WRITE TO CANADA’S MINISTER OF JUSTICE

[Pour la campagne en français cliquez ici / for French campaign click here.]

Our family justice system is in crisis. Children across the country are being separated from their mothers and placed with abusive or neglectful fathers because of a pseudo-scientific idea that should not be admissible in court.

“Parental alienation” is a controversial pseudo-concept that is used in family law cases to silence mothers and children who report family violence by the father.

Instead of believing children, courts can consider that a child has been “alienated” or “brainwashed” by their mother, leading to dangerous and sometimes punitive measures to separate the mother and the child.

“Parental alienation” has been thoroughly discredited and should not be used by Canadian courts.

Last summer, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls, its Causes and Consequences, Reem Alsalem, presented a report on the use of “parental alienation” accusations against women and victims of family violence. Her conclusion?

States must “legislate to prohibit the use of parental alienation or related pseudo-concepts in family law cases.”

Join our campaign by emailing your Member of Parliament, Canada’s Minister of Justice and party leaders to ask them to ban parental alienation accusations in family court.

Add your voice to urge your Member of Parliament, the Minister of Justice, and Canadian party leaders to act now, before any more children are forced to live with a violent parent.

Join us in asking the Canadian government to commit to banning the use of parental alienation accusations.

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This email is to ask you to commit to protecting women and children in Canada from family violence by banning the use of “parental alienation” accusations in family law disputes.

“Parental alienation” is a controversial concept used in situations where children refuse or resist contact with a parent. It is not scientifically validated yet commonly used in family court.

In family and child protection proceedings, “parental alienation” accusations and findings are highly gendered. Typically, children are framed as being “alienated” by their mother for refusing to see their father. Research has shown that this tactic is used in situations of family violence to silence women and children and invalidate their stories.

In situations like these, mothers may lose their children, and children may be placed with their father despite him being violent. In some cases, mothers are even forbidden from seeing their children. Research also suggests that accusations of "parental alienation" have a greater impact on women from minority groups, particularly racialized, migrant, and disabled women.

You might think these are exceptional situations, but sadly that is not the case. A huge proportion of contested court cases now involve accusations of “parental alienation”. All victims of domestic violence are at risk.

So, what can be done? In 2023, a recommendation by the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls, its Causes and Consequences called for all UN states to ban the use of “parental alienation” accusations in family law to protect victims of violence.

I am asking you to act to protect women and children now and pass legislation that prohibits the use of “parental alienation” accusations in parenting disputes.

I am therefore endorsing the National Association of Women and the Law’s demands that the Canadian government:

1. Commit to banning the use of “parental alienation” accusations in family courts by amending the Divorce Act;

2. Commit to consulting with feminist and legal experts, such as the National Association of Women and the Law, in developing legislation;

3. Commit to addressing the other issues identified in the UN Special Rapporteur’s report to protect women and children who are victims of family violence.

I look forward to hearing from you.

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