On 25 April, the “International Parental Alienation Awareness Day” is marked, and we cannot fail to begin by noting that, despite the growing dissemination of information identifying the characteristics of parental alienation with a view to raising awareness and alerting society to this abusive practice, there continue to be countless cases in Portugal.
Parental Alienation is a widely debated concept, although it is generally used to describe situations in which a child is induced or manipulated by one parent into resisting or rejecting the emotional bond with the other parent.
According to José Manuel Bernardo Domingos, Judge of the Court of Appeal of Évora, signs of parental alienation may include situations where one parent, in relation to the other, “denigrates the other parent’s image; forces the child to choose between mother and father, threatening the child with something unpleasant should the choice fall upon the other parent; conveys and causes the child to feel the parent’s displeasure whenever the child expresses satisfaction or happiness in being with the other parent or with something connected to them; repeatedly reminds the child of reasons or past events intended to make the child upset with the other parent; turns the child into a spy on the former spouse’s life; suggests to the child that the other parent is a dangerous person”.
Parental alienation is, to a large extent, associated with periods of separation and divorce. Indeed, it is not uncommon, following divorce proceedings, for children to become genuine “weapons” between parents, used solely for the purpose of hurting the other parent.
Nevertheless, parental alienation is not limited to nor exhausted by this selfish attempt by one parent to hurt the other through the child, as there are cases in which interference with the child’s psychological development is carried out by one parent without any morally or socially acceptable justification.
Parental alienation has serious repercussions on the health, well-being and development of children. It is therefore crucial that the alienated parent does not remain passive and acts as swiftly as possible in defence of the child’s best interests. Although parental alienation is not expressly regulated under Portuguese law, the legal system does provide certain mechanisms upon which the alienated parent may rely.
First and foremost, where the parents are already separated in fact, the alienated parent may apply for the regulation of parental responsibilities, seeking either shared custody or custody of the child in their favour. If divorce proceedings are already underway, and parental responsibilities have not yet been definitively determined, the alienated parent may request the establishment of an interim parental responsibility arrangement.
Where parental responsibilities have already been regulated, the alienated parent may, for example, initiate enforcement proceedings for non-compliance, seeking compulsory compliance and the imposition of a fine upon the alienating parent and, where the relevant legal requirements are met, compensation for non-pecuniary damages in favour of the child, the applicant parent, or both. The alienated parent may also apply for measures suspending the exercise of parental responsibilities and the child’s placement, either as a preliminary measure or as an incidental application within proceedings seeking the removal of parental responsibilities. Alternatively, the alienated parent may apply for a variation of the parental responsibilities arrangement on the grounds of non-compliance or changed circumstances.
Furthermore, the alienating parent may also incur criminal liability, insofar as conduct amounting to parental alienation may, depending on the circumstances of the case, constitute the offences of domestic violence, ill-treatment and/or child abduction.
