Our thanks to Pete for a piece in the “Commentary and Opinion” section of The Law Society Gazette by Rachel Frost-Smith, legal director in the Birketts family team, The rise and fall of ‘parental alienation’. The first three paragraphs should suffice to persuade you that Sir Andrew McFarlane and Rachel Frost-Smith are feminists and blithering idiots (I repeat myself). They take up the remainder of this blog piece:

“The Family Justice Council last week published ‘Guidance on responding to a child’s unexplained reluctance, resistance or refusal to spend time with a parent and allegations of alienating behaviour’.

Rachel Frost-Smith

‘For the avoidance of doubt, the Family Justice Council (FJC) recognises that “parental alienation syndrome” has no evidential basis and is considered a harmful pseudo-science’.

There is a helpful foreword to the document from Sir Andrew McFarlane, president of the Family Division and chair of the Family Justice Council. The president says: ‘The issue of parental alienation/alienating behaviours is a polarising one which has taken up much court time and public debate’. He goes on to say: ‘In my view this guidance is required to ensure greater consistency of approach across the courts and to improve outcomes for children and to protect children and victims from litigation abuse’.”

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