The Tragedy Behind Parental Alienation

PARENTAL ALIENATION is a nightmare experience many families across the globe go through.

IN a nutshell, parental alienation is the process, and the result, of psychological manipulation by one parent of a child into showing unwarranted fear, disrespect or hostility towards the other.

This is often accompanied by a ‘hoarding’ of the child, with a mother or father doing all they can to thwart the other’s attempts to have parent time. While alienation by one parent against the other violates both the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 as well as the Constitution of South Africa Act, countless parents are being denied access to their children. We chat to several parents on their own experiences with parental alienation and their struggle for equal access and co-parenting. Only first names have been used to protect the identity of the minors involved in each of these cases.

‘HOW I BECAME ALIENATED FROM MY SON’

KYLE, a qualified Foundation Phase educator (Grade R-3), is committed to raising awareness over parental alienation after he lost access of his son.

“Ever since my wife left me she and her family have been denying me access to my son without any evidence or substantiation. They get away with it and no one appears to think rationally about the possible holistic impacts on my son’s development, while I’m subjugated to impulsive whims. My own lawyer chose to represent my wife (I opened a case against him at the law society). My wife and lawyer continue to deny me access whilst my wife and her family’s narcissism, manipulation and entitlement over me and my son’s relationship grows,” says Kyle.