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A Historical Perspective On Parental Alienation Syndrome And Parental Alienation, Joan S. Meier
A Historical Perspective On Parental Alienation Syndrome And Parental Alienation, Joan S. Meier
GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
Claims of parental alienation syndrome (PAS) and parental alienation have come to dominate custody litigation, especially where abuse is alleged. While much psychological and legal literature has critiqued PAS, and leading researchers as well as most professional institutions have renounced the syndrome concept, alienation as a parental behavior or child’s condition continues to be extensively investigated and credited in research and forensic contexts. This article reviews the history of PAS, both as posited by its inventor, Richard Gardner, and as used and applied in courts, suggesting that it not only lacks empirical basis or objective merit, but that it derives …
Laws And Policy To Address The Link Of Family Violence, Joan Schaffner
Laws And Policy To Address The Link Of Family Violence, Joan Schaffner
GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
This chapter argues that there is a link between animal cruelty and physical abuse of humans and advocates for focusing on the link between the two behavioral patterns. I suggest that the law may capitalize upon this link to better address the violence by incorporating compassion into educational programs, enacting laws that properly indicate the seriousness of animal abuse, with stiff penalties, require cross-reporting of abuses among agencies, providing safe havens for all victims of family abuse, and more aggressively prosecuting and punishing abusers.