Kim Gandy on PAS

[bola]

Found on divorcesource.com

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Kim Gandy on PAS...

Sick Joke or Sick Reality?

...Let me ask you first: Would you trust a guy who wrote that rape victims "gain pleasure from being beaten, bound, and otherwise made to suffer" as "the price they are willing to pay for gaining the gratification of receiving the sperm?" A guy who published his belief that "the child who has suffered bona fide abuse may very well have enjoyed the experience..."? A guy who claimed that incest is not harmful, (citing Shakespeare) only "thinking makes it so"?

And I know I don't even have to ask this -- but would you trust this guy with your kids?

I thought not. Which leads me to ponder how on earth the "theory" this guy thought up has found its way into court rooms across the country, and is currently influencing child custody decisions, especially those involving child abuse. That's right, this guy, a psychiatrist named Richard Gardner -- who, by the way, also asserted that adult-child sex is normal AND beneficial for both parties as well as for the survival of the human race -- is being given credence in cases involving the fate of children and families.

And believe it or not, it seems that nine state governors have jumped on Gardner's pro-pedophilia bandwagon. In Florida, Indiana, Connecticut, Kentucky, Nebraska, Iowa, Maine, and Nevada, there is now reportedly a whole day officially dedicated to raising "awareness" about Gardner's theory called Parental Alienation Syndrome, in which the very reports of abuse by a child against a father are themselves evidence that the child is being brainwashed by the mother (and if the child is angry at the father, or doesn't want to visit, that's even more evidence) and the only "cure" for this syndrome is to force the child to live with the abuser and deny ANY contact with the protective mother, who has no history of abuse.

[...]

...While Gardner was volunteering at Columbia in the 1980s, he formed some opinions and made some personal observations that, together, he decided to call "parental alienation syndrome." He defined PAS as a condition arising from one parent's (mostly mothers, he said) "programming" of the child to wage an unreasonable "campaign of denigration against" the other parent (most of the time, the father, according to Gardner). PAS, he said, arises most often during child custody disputes, usually involves false allegations of child sexual abuse as part of the programmer parent's attempt to turn the child against the other parent, and causes "enormous grief" in the alienated parent.

Gardner's diagnostic criteria included finding out from the child the parent's "frequency of programming thoughts" and the parent's "success in manipulating the legal system to enhance the programming." The ridiculousness of these criteria goes without saying. Gardner was insistent that the "programming parent" is the mother, and that the alienated parent is the father. He opined that treatment involve forcing the mother to stop expressing negative views about the father and granting custody of the child to him and denying any visitation to her. No part of the PAS diagnostic process involves examining the father's psychiatric history or conduct, or even inquiring whether he had actually engaged in abuse.

According to an article by Dr. Paul J. Fink, past president of the American Psychiatric Association, and Hon. Sol Gothard, retired judge and former faculty member for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges:

"Parental Alienation Syndrome has been used nationwide by batterers as a courtroom tactic to silence abused children by attempting to discredit their disclosures of abuse. This theory is not recognized as valid by the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, or the American Medical Association. Parental Alienation Syndrome is not accepted as a psychiatric diagnosis, and has been rejected by the mainstream psychological community. Parental Alienation Syndrome is junk science; there is no valid research or empirical data to support this unproven theory."

To date, none of the studies necessary to judge the validity of Gardner's so-called syndrome have been conducted. In 2006, the Children's Legal Rights Journal (a multi-disciplinary journal published in conjunction with the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law, the National Association of Counsel for Children, and the Loyola University School of Law) and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges each published analyses finding no scientific or legal basis for the use of PAS.

And yet, PAS keeps making appearances in courts across the country, subverting and perverting the pursuit of justice one family at a time. According to the Children's Legal Rights Journal, a North Carolina court incarcerated a teenage girl who refused to visit her father, and a New Jersey court suspended a mother's contact with her two children, granting sole custody to the father despite "'foreseeable emotional upset and possible trauma'" to the children (Hoult, 1). In Pennsylvania, a court ordered a teenager into "PAS treatment," and he subsequently hung himself.

Read the whole thing.
Labels: child abuse, feminism, MRAs, PAS


ms. jared shits you not at 8:29 AM

3 Comments:I think I said this before, but it's really a shame, and very angering, that the people in the system who are supposed to protect women and children, the ones who have to power to do so, also seem to be the ones who hate women and children the most. After reading something like this for the millionth time, I don't know what else to think. It just makes me very sad. Well, it makes me feel many things but... yeah.

By Jenn, at May 18, 2007 7:12 AM

Let's remove where Parental Alienation was originated from--Gardner. There's no way that we or at least I can say, that it doesn't exist.

PA has been around for a very long time. We can have word play with semantics and meaning, but unfortunately either parents can participate in Parental Alienation. It can happen inside the home while both parents are residing within, but sadly when divorces come into play the custodial parent, whether it be mother or father are so often angry bitter and full of resentment that they lose grip on their tongues & emotions.

Verbal assassinations of the non-custodial parent begins to take place. Many children pledge their allegiance to the parent, that is raising them. It's their loyalty. I certainly do not agree that it's predominately orchestrated by women towards father.

But, the ugly monster called parental alienation does exist and sometimes it is mandatory in cases of child abuse, then it's not called parental alienation, it's called protecting your children.

I researched PA & PAS for many hours today, findings from others outside of Gardner. And, PA has been a nasty means of revengance by both sexes.

By Miss Vicki, at May 21, 2007 9:42 PM

with all due respect,miss vicki, it doesn't matter who gardner is or whether or not you can say PAS exists. it doesn't exist. gardner, who has no legitimate credentials, pulled it out of his ass.

the AMA and the APA have both denied its existence and/or legitimacy so whether you think it's legitimate doesn't really matter. it's NOT and it should not be allowed as a defense in a court of law.

To date, none of the studies necessary to judge the validity of Gardner's so-called syndrome have been conducted. In 2006, the Children's Legal Rights Journal (a multi-disciplinary journal published in conjunction with the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law, the National Association of Counsel for Children, and the Loyola University School of Law) and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges each published analyses finding no scientific or legal basis for the use of PAS.

By ms. jared, at May 22, 2007 5:09 AM



http://msjared.blogspot.com/2007/05/...dy-on-pas.html

[bola]

- PAS does not exist!

- Why do you say that?

- Because it's mostly women who do it to men, and acknowledging it wouldn't serve our chauvinist agenda.

- That's pretty cynical, don't you care about the children?

- Of course, we care about the children... as long as it doesn't conflict with our interests.

- Don't you think it's common sense to expect something like PAS to happen when people are estranged?

- Not at all. There is no scientific proof that it exists, therefore it doesn't exist. Also, Gardner is a pervert, what more need I say.

- I think if men were mostly doing it to women, you would be the first to put PAS on the agenda and make a big stink about it.

- On the contrary, we are completely level-headed and scientific about it. The fact that women benefit more from our denial that PAS exists than men, is pure coincidence. We are for equality and social justice, you see.

- But there are people who can observe it in every day life, there are children who will testify to it. Grown-ups will tell you they experienced it in their childhood.

- Fiddlesticks. The AMA and the APA have both denied its existence and/or legitimacy so whether anybody else thinks it's legitimate doesn't really matter.

- You hide behind acronyms and legalese. You don't seem to be genuinely concerned.

- Do you have scientific proof for that?

- er...

- Well, then.

[field marshall watkins]

I don't give a fuck, anyone who wants to try and say PAS doesn't exist and it's never happened, as in, a woman has never manipulated the children to reject the father for her own ends, is full of shit.

I know it happens. These self-interested fucking people need a beating.

[khankrumthebulgar]

NOW default setting: Men are Bad and Evil. Women are good and superior. Men are Bad and Evil. Women are good and superior. Men are Bad and Evil. Women are good and superior. Men are Bad and Evil. Women are good and superior. Men are Bad and Evil. Women are good and superior. Men are Bad and Evil. Women are good and superior. Men are Bad and Evil. Women are good and superior.

Get it? Nothing Women do is bad, only Men do Evil and bad things. Only Men.

[Alexandra]

I've seen it happen. One parent will indulge the children while the other parent actually tries to keep them in line, as another example. Guess which parent the children want to be with?

[julie]

Originally Posted by Alexandra

I've seen it happen. One parent will indulge the children while the other parent actually tries to keep them in line, as another example. Guess which parent the children want to be with?

Sounds like the Hansel and Gretel tale where the witch has the lollies.

My PAS is very well documented with professionals. (20 years of it) I also had the head of mental health in my country help me. Only the most qualified in the country and the most qualified in Russia. I guess God had a purpose for me afterall.

Hmmm, Drex talks about procrastination. It will be God or Good that will bring my story to the public. I am almost ready to leave the country after it.

It is time to bring forward to chaos from fatherless children. (but scary) even the docos from the main TV stations are interested. (gosh, I am petrified)