Penalizing women's fear: intimate partner violence and parental alienation in Canadian child custody cases

This paper explores Canadian family law cases involving claims of parental alienation and of family violence from 2014-2018, reporting the data on these claims, their resolution, and their impacts upon custody and access. A close reading of those cases where both alienation and intimate partner viol...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of social welfare & family law 2020-01, Vol.42 (1), p.80-91
Main Authors: Sheehy, Elizabeth, B. Boyd, Susan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alienation
best interests of the child
Canada
Child abuse & neglect
Child custody
Children
Claims
Domestic violence
Family law
Intimate partner violence
Mothers
Parent-child relations
parental alienation
Parents & parenting
Women
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Summary:This paper explores Canadian family law cases involving claims of parental alienation and of family violence from 2014-2018, reporting the data on these claims, their resolution, and their impacts upon custody and access. A close reading of those cases where both alienation and intimate partner violence claims are made reveals troubling patterns in how intimate partner violence is discounted in this context. We suggest that the rise of shared parenting as a dominant norm assists in understanding why alienation has achieved such unquestioned status, and call for greater focus on safety and women's and children's voices.
ISSN:0964-9069
1469-9621
DOI:10.1080/09649069.2020.1701940