There has been a clear increase in parents making allegations of “parental alienation”, “alienating behaviours” or “parental alienation syndrome” within family litigation. Even though more and more people were using the terms; there were not any clear definitions and there were no clear guidelines for the Court in respect of how the allegations should be dealt with.
In December 2024, The Family Justice Council (FJC) issued guidance about how the Family Court should deal with any such allegations. The guidance is aimed to assist those dealing with Children Act Proceedings and family litigation including Judges, solicitors and parents.
Within the guidance, the FJC are clear that “parental alienation syndrome” has no evidential basis. The guidance states that the concept is actually harmful and that the term has been exploited within family litigation.
Terminology
The FJC have defined some factual terms that can be used to describe a child’s particular behaviours:-
- Attachment, affinity and alignment (AAA) – This is where a child may favour one parent over the other due to normal child responses to parenting experience, and is not the result of psychological manipulation by a parent.
- Appropriate Justified Rejection (AJR) – This is where a child’s rejection or reluctance to see one parent is an understandable response to that parent’s behaviour.
- Protective Behaviours (PB) – This is where one parent engages in behaviour to protect the child from abuse or further harm as a consequence of the other parent’s abuse.
- Reluctance, Resistance and Refusal (RRR) – This refers to a child’s reluctance, resistance or refusal to see one parent.
The guidance does also define Alienating Behaviours (AB) as “psychologically manipulative behaviours, intended or otherwise, by a parent towards a child which have resulted in the child’s RRR to spend time with the other parent”.
If a parent is seeking to allege that a parent has engaged in Alienating Behaviours, then they must prove all of the following three elements:-
1) The child is reluctant, resisting or refusing to engage in, a relationship with a parent or carer; and
2) The reluctance, resistance or refusal is not consequent on the actions of that parent towards the child or the other parent, which may therefore be an appropriate justified rejection by the child (AJR – see Glossary above), or is not caused by any other factor such as the child’s alignment, affinity or attachment (AAA – see Glossary above); and
3) The other parent has engaged in behaviours that have directly or indirectly impacted on the child, leading to the child’s reluctance, resistance or refusal to engage in a relationship with that parent.
Domestic abuse
The guidance recognises that allegations of “parental alienation” are often raised in response to allegations of domestic abuse.
The guidance is clear that Alienating Behaviours will not be found where findings of domestic abuse have resulted in the child’s Appropriate Justified Rejection of one parent.
Alienating Behaviours will also not be found where findings of domestic abuse have been made which resulted in a parent exhibiting Protective Behaviours or a traumatic response.
How should the Court deal with allegations of Alienating Behaviors
The guidance states that those working in the Family Justice System need appropriate training so that they can recognise when a parent may be acting appropriately and when a parent may be exhibiting Alienating Behaviours.
The guidance is clear that it is the Court’s role to assess if there has been Alienating Behaviours. This is not the role of CAFCASS, or any other party or expert involved in the Proceedings.
If Alienating Behaviours are alleged by one parent, a Fact Find Hearing may be necessary to prove any of the allegations made. When considering if a Fact Find Hearing should be used, the Court are under a duty to consider whether a specific Fact Find Hearing is:-
- Relevant;
- Proportionate; and
- Necessary for the determination of the welfare issues relating to the child.
If a parent alleges Alienating Behaviours, they must prove their case with evidence.
It is important to note that a Court finding of Alienating Behaviour will not automatically mean that the Court will change the child arrangements. There are many other factors for the Court to consider before deciding what is in the child’s best interests.
If your case is affected by Alienating Behaviour and you would like assistance, please contact us on 01202 292 424.
Charlotte Dawson is an Apprentice Solicitor and can be contacted at cjd@prestonredman.co.uk. Her work is supervised by Janine Bryant who is a Partner at the firm and Janine can be contacted at jlb@prestonredman.co.uk.
