1. Objectifs

Intentions :
The author’s «research contributes to [an] urgent conversation by shedding new light on the role of domestic violence in parental alienation cases. [She] observe[s] how series of cases involving the same family deal with the issue of domestic violence.» (p. 301)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«By examining all appellate cases mentioning parental alienation in Quebec between 2010 and 2020 and, for each appeal, looking back to earlier decisions involving the same family, [author] pursue[s] the inquiry into the interaction of domestic violence and parental alienation.» (p. 304)

Type de traitement des données :
Réflexion critique

3. Résumé

Author «argued that the right way to think about and construct family law rules is to prioritize domestic violence concerns and to treat situations of intimate partner violence as paradigmatic rather than exceptional cases. The importance of centring domestic violence is all the more relevant in parental alienation cases, given the concept’s frequent use by violent fathers and its history as a tool to marginalize mothers’ safety concerns. Parental alienation scholars reject this method and defend their theory by saying that it does not apply to circumstances of family violence. But despite the appearances, domestic violence cannot be treated as an exceptional case—not in family law generally, and even less in parental alienation cases. In this study of alienation cases at the appellate level, 78 percent of the cases appeared to have no allegation or trace of domestic violence, yet previous decisions involving the same family revealed that at least 59 percent of alienation cases involved an issue of domestic violence. [According to the author, we] must be very conscious of the risk that appellate courts—and the judges and scholars who read them—will see parental alienation as an issue unrelated to domestic violence, while parental alienation remains primarily alleged in domestic-violence related cases.» (p. 356-357)