The silence is daunting
On Thursday, 19 December 2024, the bill L 66 was adopted. We now have a law on sanctioning 'parental alienation' - an illegitimate concept, which will cause further harm to female victims of domestic violence and children, and discrimination of women and victims of violence in the complex family law cases.
Only three parties (Danish People's Party, Liberal Alliance, and The Denmark Democrats) did not vote in favour of passing the law. However, note that the reason was they found the law too lenient. All other parties voted in favour of the law.
The silence in Denmark is daunting. Only the fathers' rights movement* is celebrating their progress. Victims of domestic violence have children who don't want to live any longer. Their voices fall silent because of an unfounded theory, which is as if designed to silence children. Instead, it causes us to suspect their wishes.
The unfounded theory on "parental alienation" has been the dominating theory in Denmark for years. It means that the more children shout out for help, the more they feed the suspicion that they have been manipulated. It is this legal status, which has now been codified into law.
No Danish press has latched onto the serious problems associated with this development. In the following, I summarise what I mean by that.
? GREVIO published a report on December 18, 2024, in which they express severe critique of and severe concern for the situation in Denmark. They use the phrase 'disheartening'. GREVIO is the committee overseeing the implementation of the ’Istanbul Convention’.
No Danish press has mentioned GREVIO’s report, which you will find here: https://tinyurl.com/y8ys8ks8
? The Minister of Social Affairs has openly distanced herself from Denmark's obligations to respect a European Convention and has instead mocked GREVIO’s competences.
No Danish press has mentioned the Danish disrespect for the rule-based world order. You will find my analysis (with links to sources with documentation; most are in Danish): https://tinyurl.com/4ky32tsn?
? The act on 'parental alienation' is motivated by allegations that 'mothers harass', and this is mainly motivated by a judgement from the Supreme Court and a TV2-programme called "With children as weapons".
No Danish press has mentioned that none of these sources are well-founded as a motivation for the law. You will find my posts on the lack of foundation here:
And here:
? Three weeks ago, the Fundamental Rights Agency under the EU published a report showing that almost every second Danish woman has been a victim of violence, and in over half of these cases, it was domestic violence. It is called the Nordic paradox that increased equal rights seem to entail increased violence against women.
Almost no Danish press has mentioned the report. You will find my post about it here: https://tinyurl.com/mr664mka
? Denmark now adopts something called the Norwegian model. This is an approach that is just as harmful as the government's first proposal.
No Danish press has mentioned that:
???? there is no recognised 'model' in Norway,
???? that in Norway they are now abandoning the use of the term “parental alienation” and transitioning to using concepts that are not value-laden,
???? that the Norwegian Psychological Association does not recognise the concept either,
???? that the Norwegian specialist behind the term has also warned the Danish government.
You will find my posts on the Norwegian model here:
And here:
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? Specialists all over the world have warned against using the concept of 'parental alienation', and in Parliament they know it. Here are some of the specialists:
Children & Visitation, Children's Welfare, Danish Association for Psychology, the Danish National Observatory on Violence against Women, Danish Women’s Society’s Shelters, Danner, Live Without Violence, LOKK - National Organisation of Women’s Shelters, Mothers' Help, The National Council for Children, Save the Children Denmark, Women’s Council Denmark, AFCC (The Interdisciplinary Association for Family and Conciliation Courts), American Psychiatric Association, APSAC (The American Professional Society Against Child Abuse), CEDAW, The European Association for Psychotherapy, European Parliament, UN's special rapporteur, GREVIO, NCJFCJ (The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges), and WHO, and more.
In England/Wales they prohibited the use of the concept of 'parental alienation' as an argument in family court on December 11, 2024. This is only 8 days prior to the same concept being made mandatory in Danish law.
No Danish press has mentioned that Denmark is opposed by the entire professional community, a European convention, and family court systems around the world. No one encouraged caution. You will find my post on the new guideline from England and Wales here:
And my post on the Spanish system here - in Spain, the prohibition also includes any substitute concepts:
? The law-making process itself has been messed up, and at certain points it has been scandalous.
No Danish press has mentioned the somersaults lawmaker ended up having to make. You will find my analysis here (one is in English):
And here:
https://tinyurl.com/fs3dzspd (Analysis in English)
? Danish press has in one article coined the law as a law against mothers.
No Danish press has mentioned that it is naturally not possible to make laws against one gender, but that is exactly what just happened. You will find my review of that case here:
? No Danish press has analysed the state of the law in Danish family law.
This would be motivated, though, seeing that Denmark now makes law against mothers. It raises the question of what the legal norm "in the best interest of the child' actually means. In order to understand that problem, one has to understand the philosophical term 'doxa'.
When the Nazis took over the German court system in 1933, the rule of law collapsed like a house of cards in a storm. That didn't happen because the laws were changed. The way they went about it was to change 'doxa', so distorted normativity penetrated the courts.
The reader with an interest in legal philosophy will find my analysis here (the article has not been translated):
No Danish press has mentioned that the law discriminates against women and parents who are victims of violence. On the contrary, the press has supported this discrimination and thereby led a campaign to support a change of doxa in Danish family law resulting in distorted normativity.
It is not Christmas peace and quiet, which has spread over Danish family law. It is rather a silence, which is daunting.
* This term does not refer to a legitimate movement. You can Google the critique yourself.
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1 个月Love this as I hate injustice at all times.