Parental alienation, also known as “alienating behaviours”, is becoming more of an issue within the Family Court. The court’s paramount consideration within Children Act proceedings is the child’s welfare. Therefore, when there are allegations of alienating behaviours, the court must consider the impact on the child’s welfare. In December 2024, the Family Justice Council released guidance to assist the court on how to approach these concerns when they are raised. Within this guidance, alienating behaviours are described as a child’s unexplained reluctance, resistance and refusal to spend time with the other parent. A child who is subjected to alienating behaviours can suffer from emotional and psychological harm. While this is something that is commonly raised, it can be difficult to navigate during proceedings.
Parental separation alone can have a significant impact on a child’s welfare without the added complexity of alienating behaviours. It is important for both parties to support children through this difficult time – not make matters worse by increasing tension within the family. This article explores what alienating behaviours mean, what they are as well as providing the signs and legal options available to address this issue.
What is parental alienation?
There is no single definition of alienating behaviours, but it can be described as a parent who deliberately influences a child to reject or feel hostility towards the other parent, often during or after divorce or separation. There are three necessary elements to alienating behaviours, and are as follows:
- The child is reluctant, resisting or refusing to engage in a relationship with a parent or carer; and
- 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 (AJR) by the child or is not caused by another fact such as the child’s alignment, affinity or attachment (AAA) with the parent and
- The other parent has engage 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.
All of the above elements must be satisfied in determining alienating behaviours.
Examples of alienating behaviours may include (subject to the above criteria being met) a parent intentionally manipulating the child to feel negatively towards the other parent for no apparent reason, such as talking negatively about the other parent in front of the child or to the child directly. Further examples of such behaviour may include involving the child in adult-appropriate conversations surrounding the separation/divorce, limiting contact between the child and parent and making the child aware of allegations of abuse.
This can lead the child to form an undesirable view of the other parent which in turn may harm the child’s well-being and their relationship with the other parent. In the most extreme cases, the child may express that they do not wish to have any contact with the other parent, with no valid reason. Once the child forms this view, it can be very difficult to make the child engage with any such contact at all thereafter, causing further damage to the relationship as well as the child effectively losing the right to the relationship with both parents.
Types of parental alienation
The severity of the alienation can vary on a case-by-case basis, but the intensity of the alienation may be categorised as follows:
- Mild alienation can occur when the child is resistant to spend time with the other parent but when they are together, the child engages well and enjoys the time spent with that parent. This could be as a result of degrading the parent in front of the child and talking very negatively about them.
- Moderate alienation could be where the child is resistant to spend time with the other parent and this continues during the time that they spend together. The child may present as oppositional and challenging towards the other parent.
- Severe alienation could be where the child refuses to have any contact with the other parent. This could be both direct contact or indirect contact, such as phone calls or video calls. This has the most severe effects which can be difficult to build a relationship with the child if the damage is too much and may result in the child having nothing to do with the other parent.
How to prove parental alienation
Alienating behaviours are extremely upsetting for the victim and can have a severely damaging impact on the child. Proving alienating behaviours is difficult, especially as this is usually a factor in high-conflict cases. This means that the court must be convinced that the child’s behaviour is a result of alienating behaviours rather than the parental conflict that they are being exposed to. It is, therefore, important to gather as much evidence of the alienating behaviours as possible. This may be difficult because these types of behaviours are often not displayed in front of people, but behind closed doors, when it is just the alienating parent and the child. Evidence would include any form of communication between the parents and also the parent and child e.g. text messages. The court does not agree with covertly recording children or the other parent when they are not aware that they are being recorded. This is because of the lack of context a recording provides, and therefore, this should be avoided.
There may be third parties who are able to assist with providing evidence. This evidence can be a letter from the school or GP. In addition, family friends may also be able to provide statements about the behaviour that they have witnessed. If they are willing to, you need to ensure that they are comfortable with attending a court hearing and being cross-examined on their statement. The majority of individuals would not feel comfortable doing this, and therefore, knowing whether they would want to do this from an early stage is advised.
In addition, a psychologist or other trained professional will be able to assess the child and consider whether there is evidence of alienating behaviours. This will need to be ordered by the court, and the child’s welfare should be taken into consideration when deciding whether third-party intervention in such a way is appropriate. A Section 7 report will likely be carried out by either Cafcass or the local authority. A section 7 report will look at the wishes and feelings of the child based on their age and maturity and will consider whether there is any evidence of alienating behaviours at this stage.
How can Goughs help?
Goughs can provide you with up-to-date advice and assistance during court proceedings surrounding child arrangements and alienating behaviours. Please get in touch with one of our expert lawyers who offer a free, confidential and no obligation, 30 minute initial appointment to discuss any concerns that you have.
