A petition has been launched on the official website of the Chamber for “parental alienation” to be recognized as an offense and that it can be penalized. Consciously or not, it happens more and more often, in the event of separation, that one of the parents “turns” the children against the other. So, should we legislate?
The two sons of Michel, a resident of Incourt (province of Walloon Brabant), are today two young men of 20 and 22 years old. Both don’t want to see their dad anymore. Michel has not seen them for 8 years. “It hurts me a lot. Yes, I burst into tears. It’s normal, I miss them.”
When Michell separates from their mother, the children are only 4 and 6 years old. They have not seen them for several years due to the manipulation of his ex-partner, he says. “Baming over time and repeated lies”, according to him. “His fight was to try to oust me. She succeeded. My children, I no longer see them and they are totally misinformed. They live without a father and with an image that is not the right one”, says Michael.
The parent paragraph is “the process of programming a child to hate a parent without justification”, according to the official youth aid portal. A situation that Marie-France Carlier often encounters. She is a family and youth judge at the Court of First Instance of Namur: “What is really important is that we do not block the situation with criminal sanctions by reinforcing the idea that this parent is bad. In addition, he sends the ‘good next of kin’ to prison, which will reinforce the child’s idea that he really is a bad parent. “
It’s important to show that I’m always there for them
That parental ailment becomes an offense punishable by law. This is the will of a petition launched by a resident of the province of Luxembourg.
For judge Marie-France Carlier, it is rather necessary to fight against the non-respect of joint custody and to favor mediation as much as possible. “We must help them get out of these emotions and take a step back from their own difficulties to accept this separation, and not use children as hostages of the separation”, explains the magistrate.
Michel says he tried mediation, but to no avail. Now adults, his two children do not follow up on his attempts at rapprochement. “It’s important to show that I’m still there for them, to tell them that they are not responsible for this situation.”
In April, Michel will send a message to the youngest for his birthday. He crosses his fingers and hopes for a sign in return.