Parental alienation is a crime and causes harm to children

For almost 10 years, the term 'parental alienation' has become more common in family discussions. Unfortunately, this practice is more common than one might think.

According to lawyer Kássia Ferraz, parental alienation is nothing more than a manipulation carried out by one of the guardians of the child or adolescent, which destroys the image of one of the parents. 'Sometimes one parent uses the child as an instrument of revenge, psychologically manipulating the child against the father or mother, or even relatives. In other situations, it hinders the child's family interaction with their parent or relatives. In both cases, the practice is called parental alienation. Many people believe that this practice is common only among mothers, but it can be related to any family member or guardian of the minor, including fathers and grandparents,' she explained.

Parental Alienation is provided for in Law No. 12.318/2010 and became a crime in 2018. In addition to harming children's relationships with one of the parents, this practice brings serious psychological damage to minors. 'There is a rupture of affective bonds, and this profoundly affects the image that the child has of their parent. These feelings are reflected throughout their lives,' the lawyer added.

The problem is so serious that the Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) is considered a disease by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is estimated that more than 20 million children worldwide suffer from this problem.

The lawyer explains that the law has played a fundamental role in holding parents psychologically responsible for their children. 'There is a great discussion about the difficulty of proving alienation. However, we know that the legislation has made significant progress by creating a way to protect minors from trauma,' she added.

Alienation can be characterized through various behaviors, including making it difficult for the child to contact the parent, changing addresses without justification, and conducting campaigns to disqualify the parent. 'The problem is very common in divorce cases, especially when one of the parents does not agree with the separation. But it is important to be aware, as parental alienation syndrome can be characterized even during marriage,' she explained.