Parental Alienation: What is it and how does the law protect children?

Parental alienation has unfortunately become increasingly common in family disputes. It occurs when one of the parents or guardians manipulates the child to alienate them from the other parent, creating an environment of hostility or mistrust. This can happen through lies, interference or attitudes aimed at damaging the bond between the child and the other parent, causing psychological harm to the child. The consequences are serious and directly affect the child's emotional and psychological development, generating anxiety, depression and relationship difficulties.

What is parental alienation?

Parental alienation was consolidated in Brazilian legislation by Law 12.318/2010 (updated with Law 14.340/2022 on the applicability of the Parental Alienation Law), which describes this behavior and offers measures to combat it.

The law recognizes the importance of both parents in the child's healthy development and its main objective is to ensure that family life is preserved. In addition, this practice is considered a violation of the fundamental rights of children and adolescents, directly impacting their emotional development.

Examples include:

• Bad-mouthing the other parent in front of the child;

• Hindering or preventing visits and contact between the other parent and the child;

• Making false accusations, such as abandonment or mistreatment;

• Inducing the child to reject the other parent for no real reason.

Brazilian legislation allows the judge to take various measures to protect the child's right to maintain a healthy relationship with both parents when parental alienation is identified:

• Warning the alienator;

• Fining the person responsible;

• Extending the regime of cohabitation with the alienated parent;

• Modifying custody;

• Ordering psychological or psychiatric monitoring;

• Suspend or reverse custody in more serious cases.

With Law 14.340/2022, some changes were introduced, such as:

• Assisted visitation: A minimum right to assisted visitation has been established to ensure that the child and the parent can live together in supervised places, such as forums or authorized entities, except in cases where there is a risk to the child's safety.

• Appointment of experts: In cases where there are no professionals trained to assess parental alienation, the law allows for the appointment of experts.

• Special testimony: When necessary, the testimony of the child or adolescent must follow special procedures, according to Law 13.431/17, to avoid additional trauma.

Consequences for the child

Parental alienation can cause serious psychological damage, such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and difficulties in forming healthy relationships in the future. When children are exposed to family conflicts, they can develop feelings of guilt, insecurity and emotional distress, leading them to reject one of their parents for no good reason.

• Emotional suffering;

• Low self-esteem;

• Anxiety and depression;

• Difficulty forming healthy relationships;

• Confusion at being led to reject one of the parents unfairly.

  
  

These impacts can affect the child's emotional development in the long term, compromising their ability to create emotional bonds in the future.

How can parental alienation be proven?

Proving parental alienation is challenging, but there are ways to gather evidence, such as:

• Messages, emails or recordings showing attempts to prevent contact with the other parent;

• Testimonies from third parties about the alienator's conduct;

• Reports from psychologists or social workers;

• Judicial expertise and specialized testimony.

  
  

This evidence is essential for the judge to understand the seriousness of the situation and apply the correct measures.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Parental Alienation

1. What is parental alienation? It is the manipulation of a child by one of the parents in order to alienate them from the other parent.

2. What are examples of parental alienation? Bad-mouthing the other parent, making visits difficult and making false accusations.

3. How can parental alienation be identified? By behaviors such as refusing contact and disqualifying the other parent.

4. How can parental alienation be proven? Through messages, witnesses and professional reports.

5. What are the effects of parental alienation on the child? Emotional damage, such as anxiety, depression and relationship difficulties.

6. How does the law protect children from parental alienation? Through warnings, changes of custody and suspension of parental authority.

7. What changed in the Parental Alienation Law in 2022? Introduction of assisted visitation and appointment of experts.

8. What happens if parental alienation is proven? Sanctions for the alienator, such as fines and change of custody.

9. What to do if you suspect parental alienation? Consult a lawyer and gather evidence.

10. What is the role of psychologists and social workers? To identify alienation, prepare reports and assist the judge.

11. Is parental alienation a crime? It is not a crime, but it can lead to severe punishments in the civil sphere.

12. What is the punishment for the alienator? Warnings, fines and even modification of the child's custody.