{"id":11400,"date":"2019-07-12T16:46:18","date_gmt":"2019-07-12T20:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/?p=11400"},"modified":"2019-07-19T11:13:02","modified_gmt":"2019-07-19T15:13:02","slug":"leaf-urges-world-health-organization-to-reconsider-inclusion-of-parental-alienation-in-revised-international-classification-of-diseases","status":"publish","type":"submission","link":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/submission\/leaf-urges-world-health-organization-to-reconsider-inclusion-of-parental-alienation-in-revised-international-classification-of-diseases\/","title":{"rendered":"LEAF urges World Health Organization to reconsider inclusion of \u201cparental alienation\u201d in revised International Classification of Diseases"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Women\u2019s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) has joined a number of concerned feminists and children\u2019s rights advocates, including the F\u00e9d\u00e9ration des femmes du Qu\u00e9bec,<\/em> the National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL), and Luke\u2019s Place, in calling on the World Health Organization (WHO) to not include \u201cparental alienation\u201d as a \u201ccaregiver-child relationship problem\u201d in the International Classification of Diseases 11th<\/sup> Revision <\/em>(ICD-11). <\/p>\n

There is no official definition of \u201cparental alienation\u201d, but it is generally understood to mean that a child\u2019s fear or rejection of one parent comes from negative influencing by the other parent. Including \u201cparental alienation\u201d in the ICD-11 raises serious concerns about women\u2019s safety and child development as it is frequently used in court to deny credible claims of abuse.    <\/p>\n

For example, claims of \u201cparental alienation\u201d discount other, well-documented causes of parent-child conflict such as family violence and parental neglect. Researchers in the United States and Canada have found that alienation claims are leading courts to discount evidence of paternal abuse of women and children, remove children from parents (primarily mothers) who seek to protect them, and place children with abusive parents\u2014even in cases where judges acknowledge family violence and abuse. Women and children are silenced as lawyers, mediators, evaluators, and judges fail to investigate claims of abuse and concerns for safety in favour of punishing them for resisting contact.  <\/p>\n