Thirteen Brazilian mothers who say they are victims of domestic violence have told researchers of their harrowing experiences inside that country’s family court system.
Thirteen Brazilian mothers who say they are victims of domestic violence have told researchers of their harrowing experiences inside that country’s family court system.
The qualitative study—led by Dr. Elizabeth Dalgarno from The University of Manchester—is published today in the Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law.
The mothers had taken violent partners to court only for some of them to lose custody and residence of their children over counterclaims of parental alienation.
Parental Alienation is a pseudo-concept that asserts when a child has a negative stance towards one parent, typically the father, the child’s preferred parent, typically the mother, is to blame.
When victim-survivors report abuse and violence, parental alienation is often used to denounce and disqualify reports of abuse, implying that mothers are lying and manipulating children.
A law introduced in Brazil in 2010 solidified the concept into legislation.
The current Government under President Lula da Silva shows no sign of a revoking it. In fact, the country is on track to making so-called parental alienation a criminal offense, punishable by three months to three years in prison.
Speaking publicly about this abuse in the family court and inability to pay child support can result in a prison sentence for mothers in Brazil, whereas child rape and other acts of violence including illegal firearms possession and associated violence by fathers did not, in this study.
In the study, all the mothers reported multiple health conditions associated with family court proceedings, conceptualized by the researchers as Court and Perpetrator Induced Trauma (CPIT).
Eight of the 13 cases included child sexual abuse. Five mothers reported that police-led criminal investigations into child sexual abuse were closed due to allegations of parental alienation in family court.
