Parental Alienation and Fatherlessness
Public Policy
Campaigns
CONTACT
Justin Trottier, Executive Director
Canadian Centre for Men and Families
jtrottier@menandfamilies.org
416-402-8856
Call to Action
- Donate to the CCMF Equal Parenting Advocacy Campaign
- Tweet or join the conversation on social media using #LetsTalkMen @MenandFamilies
Lets bring this billboard to cities across Canada.
Join the conversation. #LetsTalkMen
Introducing Parental Alienation and Fatherlessness
The second in our three part Men’s Issues Billboard Advertisements have arrived!
“I am not parental prey. Help me keep mommy AND daddy. Parental Alienation Hurts”
Look for this billboard at the following locations:
* Avenue Rd at Roe Ave
* Danforth Ave at Dawes Rd
* Dupont St at Dufferin St.
Watch the Press Conference:
Are You a Separated or Divorced Father?
Register for a New Program Designed for You!
Fathering After Separation or Divorce is a new program providing knowledge, resources and skills with a curriculum built for fathers, based on the best research from child psychologists, father-friendly lawyers and men’s health providers. Register now and join us at the Canadian Centre for Men and Families.
Starting in fall 2015 we will be offering an exciting new program dedicated to divorced or separated fathers. The ‘Fathering After Separation or Divorce’ (FASD) program will provide a broad range of knowledge, resources and skills for fathers looking to maintain a strong relationship with their children following a divorce or separation.
What is Parental Alienation?
Parental alienation sometimes occurs when parents engage in a high-conflict separation or divorce. Parental alienation means that the child has become enmeshed with one parent (the preferred parent) and has rejected a relationship with the other parent (the target parent) without legitimate justification.
What Are We Recommending?
1. Parents should put the well being of their children first and adopt co-parenting arrangements that allow for a full relationship with both parents
2. A presumption of equal shared parenting should be made the law in Canada following a family break up
3. We must make available fathering programs that support dads undergoing a family break-up with resources and tools to maintain a healthy relationship with their child or children
The Importance of a Father on a Child’s Development
Consequences of Parental Alienation
Adult Children that have experienced parental alienation may exhibit the following effects long term:
- Low self-esteem
- Depression
- Truancy
- Lack of trust in others
- Difficulty with intimate relationships
- Feeling shame for hurting the rejected parent
- Alcohol or drug problems
- Higher propensity for divorce
Signs of Parental Alienation
17 Signs of Parental Alienation
Behaviour & Warning Signs Exhibited by Child, Alienating Parent and Rejected Parent
What Are the Symptoms of Parental Alienation
Click here to learn more about the Symptoms of Parental Alienation
The Benefits of Shared Parenting
Support Organizations
Brochure of Parental Alienation Awareness Organization
Scholarly Research
An Attachment-Based Model of Parental Alienation: Foundations, by C.A. Childress, Psy.D.
Key findings:
The characteristic psychopathology of the narcissistic/(borderline) parent draws the child into a role-reversal relationship to help the narcissistic/(borderline) parent regulate three separate but interrelated sources of intense anxiety
Key findings:
1 Parental alienation syndrome develops in children who come to hate, fear, and reject the targeted parent as someone unworthy of having a relationship with them.
2 Richard Gardner, PhD described that there are eight behavioral components that have been validated in a survey of 68 targeted parents of severely alienated children (Baker & Darnall, 2007), including A Campaign of Denigration, Absence of Guilt About the Treatment of the Targeted Parent and Rejection of Extended Family
The Hostage Metaphor for “Parental Alienation,” by C.A. Childress, Psy.D. (2014)
Key findings:
1. One parent denigrating the other “targeted” parent results in the child’s emotional rejection of the targeted parent, and the loss of a capable and loving parent from the life of the child.
2. The severe effects of parental alienation on children are well-documented; low self-esteem and self-hatred, lack of trust, depression, and substance abuse and other forms of addiction are widespread, as children lose the capacity to give and accept love from a parent.
3. Hatred is not an emotion that comes naturally to a child; it has to be taught. A parent who would teach a child to hate or fear the other parent represents a grave and persistent danger to the mental and emotional health of that child.
Key findings:
1 “Shared parental responsibility” approach which embodies the principle of the “best interests of the child, from the perspective of the child,” emphasizing children’s needs for protection from harm, parental equality and family autonomy as core interests of children in the divorce transition.
2 The “shared parental responsibility” approach to divorce law reform is comprised of four main elements:
1) The establishment of a legal expectation that parents must jointly or separately develop a parenting plan before a court hearing is held on matters related to their divorce.
2) The establishment of a legal expectation that existing parent-child relationships will continue after separation.
3) Shared parental responsibility will be the legal rebuttable presumption.
4) Exempt will be established cases of abuse and domestic violence which will continue to be dealt with via third party intervention, with child protection as the overriding concern.
Key findings:
Young children’s interests benefit when two adequate parents follow a parenting plan that provides their children with balanced and meaningful contact with each parent. Overnights help to reduce the tension associated with rushing to return the child, and thus potentially improve the quality and satisfaction of the contact both for the parent and child. An additional advantage of overnights is that in the morning the father can return the child to the daycare; this avoids exposing the child to tensions associated with the parents’ direct contact with each other.
Statistics Canada 2007 – Study: Frequency of contact between separated fathers and their children
Key findings:
1. Dads who remained closely involved with their children in the first few months following separation had a much greater chance of remaining so later on, the study showed.
2. The majority of fathers and mothers form new unions in the years following separation, often with individuals who also have children from an earlier union. Close to half of these new couples go on to have a child together.
3. The earlier separated fathers entered a new union, the less frequently they saw their children later on. In particular, non-resident fathers who began a new union within two months of separation had significantly less contact with children than those who did not.
4. Fathers who invest time in their children are also more inclined to invest money and other resources
5. Fathers who were involved in their non-resident children’s lives after separation did not abandon them, whatever the family commitments they later took on.
Lesson Notes: How Do Fathers Fit In? – Topic: The importance of fathers, from Civitas
Fathers’ Involvement With Their Children: United States, 2006–2010, by Jo Jones, Ph.D., and William D. Mosher, Ph.D., National Health Statistics Report, Division of Vital Statistics, Number 71, December 20, 2013
Key findings:
1 Black fathers (70%) were most likely to have bathed, dressed, diapered, or helped their children use the toilet every day compared with white (60%) and Hispanic fathers (45%).
2 A larger percentage of older fathers had not played with their non co-residential children compared with the youngest fathers.
3 Fathers who lived with children under age 5 were six times more likely than fathers who did not live with their young children to have read to them.
Key findings
1. Shared parenting children of all ages made better grades, were less depressed, and were more well-adjusted behaviorally than the children in the sole residence families.
2. High, ongoing conflict in which the children are involved sometimes diminish the benefits of shared parenting. But this does not mean shared parenting will create negative impact, in fact, shared parenting is more likely to decrease the negative impact of conflict.
3. Even though shared parenting couples tend to have somewhat higher incomes and somewhat less verbal conflict than other parents, these two factors alone do not explain the better outcomes for the children.
Mum’s the Word of Fatherhood Download the book by Jim Macnamara
Ideology and Dysfunction in Family Law
Download the Book By Grant A. Brown | May 6, 2014
For several decades now, fathers have faced significant, widespread bias in family courts across Canada. But as author Grant Brown shows in this free e-book, many of the popular prejudices behind this bias simply have no basis in law or fact. In Ideology And Dysfunction In Family Law – How Courts Disenfranchise Fathers, Brown shows us why dads are getting such a raw deal – and what can be done about it.
child custody, access and parental responsibility
Download the Book by Edward Kruk, University of British Columbia Professor | December 2008
News Headlines
Kidnapper’s Trick, Time Magazine, September 2006, by Nathan Thornburgh
The plight of divorced dads(National Post December 08, 2007)
Videos
Trailer – Erasing Dad documentary
Welcome Back Pluto Chapter 6
Good morning America Interveiw of Dr. Amy J. L. Bake
First of Dr. Craig Childress YouTube video’s
Second Dr. Craig Childress YouTube Speaking to the child
They Ambushed My Dad I Child of Parental Alienation I Ryan Thomas Speaks
Want to Learn More?
“I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren’t trying to teach us… We are formed by little scraps of wisdom.”
– Umberto Eco, Foucault’s Pendulum
“He didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it”.
— Clarence Budington Kelland.
Read CCMF’s blog posts on Parental Alienation, authored by Kiran Thomas
Infographics
Dr. James Brown's Odyssey for Equality, Sponsored by CCMF
Public Policy
Campaigns
CONTACT
Justin Trottier, Executive Director
Canadian Centre for Men and Families
jtrottier@menandfamilies.org
416-402-8856
After a forty year career in education, during which he has held virtually every position possible in the profession, Dr. James S. Brown is currently undertaking a new project aimed at raising public awareness about the issue of gender equality, especially as it applies in education. He has begun a multi-country tour, speaking with educational and community leaders about the problem of the increasing degree to which boys are underachieving in and disengaged by school, and the long-term consequences of our society’s apparent lack of interest in issues which impact disproportionately on boys.
The tour, which he is calling his Odyssey for Equality, includes stops in the UK, in a number of states in the USA, and in most of the Canadian provinces. The major theme is the problem of the underachievement of boys in school, its causes, consequences and solutions. Dr. Brown has already addressed groups in Florida in the USA, in Norwich and London in the UK, and in various locations in southern Ontario. He has an extensive schedule of meetings and presentations in Ontario in May and June, and in the western provinces in July and August. Please check the schedule and watch for the tour as it arrives in a location near you this summer.
The Canadian Centre for Men and Families is a proud sponsor of the “Odyssey for Equality” currently being undertaken by our Advisory Fellow Dr. James Brown. In ongoing instalments on these CCMF blogs, James will update us on his travels, as he raises awareness of the educational issues facing boys in Canada. Here is his schedule and below is his first report:
Schedule
July
ONTARIO
July 3 – North Bay
July 4 – Sault Ste Marie
July 5 – Marathon
July 6 – Thunder Bay
July 7 – Ignace
July 8 – Kenora
MANITOBA
July 9 – 10 – Winnipeg
July 10, 7:00 pm
Meeting Room 1
Sir William Stephenson Branch, Winnipeg Public Library
765 Keewatin Street
Winnipeg
SASKATCHEWAN
July 11 – Moosomin
July 12 – 14 – Regina
Sat July 13 Regina 10:30 am
Large Meeting Room 1
William Bothwell Branch, Regina Public Library
Southland Mall, 2965 Gordon Rd
Regina
ALBERTA
July 15 – 19 – Medicine Hat
July 20 Lethbridge 10:30 am
Friends Meeting Room 1
Crossings Branch, Lethbridge Public Library
255 Britannia Blvd West
Lethbridge
July 21 – Strathmore
July 22 -23 – Calgary
July 23 Calgary 6:30 pm
Meeting Room 1
Memorial Park Branch, Calgary Public Library,
1221- 2nd Street SW
Calgary
July 24 – 25 – Banff
Fri 26 – Red Deer
Sat 27 – Drayton Valley
July 27 Red Deer 10:30 am
Snell Auditorium
Main Branch, Red Deer Public Library
4818 – 49th Street
Red Deer
July 28 – 30 Edmonton
July 29 Edmonton 7:00 pm
Edmonton Room
Stan Milner Branch
Edmonton Public Library
7 Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton
July 31 – Lloydminster
July 31 Lloydminster 7:00 pm Meeting Room 1
Main Branch,
Lloydminster Public Library
Lower Level, Atrium Centre
5010 – 49th Street
Lloydminster
August
SASKATOON
August 1 – 2 – Saskatoon
Aug 1 Saskatoon 7:00 pm
Auditorium
Frances Morrison Branch, Saskatoon Public Library
311 – 23rd Street East
Saskatoon
July 3 – Yorkton/Regina
July 4 – Regina
MANITOBA
July 5 – Winnipeg
ONTARIO
July 6 – Ignace
July 7 – Thunder Bay
July 8 – Marathon
July 9 – Sault Ste Marie
July 10 – Sudbury
July 11 – Brechin
My Odyssey for Equality in EducationMy Odyssey is underway! For the past two months (March – April), and continuing for the next four months (May – August), I have been and will be meeting with educational and community leaders in an effort to raise awareness about the increasing degree to which some children, most often boys, are underachieving in our schools. While school systems are making efforts to deal with the inequality that this represents, there appears to be little appetite for information from any groups outside of the system. The approach that is being used appears to be “more of the same.” Meanwhile, many other options are available. The Odyssey will encourage leaders in many fields related to children to share information and ideas.
As my travels unfold, I will provide regular reports so that those that are interested can share in my adventure with me.
Inequality starts early; fortunately, equality also starts early. Be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.
Expand the Inquiry: Include Men and Boys in the National Inquiry Into Missing and Murdered Indigenous People
Public Policy
Campaigns
CONTACT
Justin Trottier, Executive Director
Canadian Centre for Men and Families
jtrottier@menandfamilies.org
416-402-8856
Call to Action
- Hang a necktie on March 31, 2016 in support of the campaign started by Lydia Daniels, whose son, Colten Pratt, is missing. Join your local CCMF branch (see details below) or hang neckties with friends in your own community. Take pictures and share them with your friends and with us by emailing them to: info@equalitycanada.com
- Sign this petition “For a Gender-Inclusive Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Aboriginal Canadians”
- Write the ministers involved in the inquiry and your own MP. Always be respectful.
Find your MP’s email address using your postal code: Find Your MP
Use this template OR write your own email to your MP and:
Carolyn Bennett: Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs: minister@aadnc-aandc.gc.ca
Patty A. Hajdu: Minister of Status of Women: minister-ministre@swc-cfc.gc.ca
Jody Wilson-Raybould: Minister of Justice: Jody.Wilson-Raybould@parl.gc.ca - Share a link to this page with friends and use the hashtag #includemen
Introducing the Coalition to Expand the Inquiry
Help us in urging the federal government to include men and boys in the upcoming inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.
Click here to donate to Expand the Inquiry
Our Request:
Good Public Policy Should Be Built On All Available Data
A Request to the Government of Canada to Expand the Scope of the National Inquiry Into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
Breaking News Reports:
Media Advisory: National Inquiry Now has Opportunity to Listen to Indigenous Families Calling to Include Boys and Men
Media Advisory: Indigenous Families Heartbroken Murdered Sons Will Not be Meaningfully Included in the National Inquiry
Media Advisory: Coalition Applauds National Inquiry Announcement That Indigenous Boys and Men Will be Included
Update
On December 15, 2016 A group of students at Port Credit Secondary School held an event wearing red ribbons and neckties as part of the Expand the Inquiry campaign. Neckties with red ribbons were placed around the school on International Human Rights day to honour both female and male victims of violence.
From December 6-8, 2016 the Coalition to Expand the Inquiry held a series of meetings in Ottawa.
Through meetings with the Minister of Justice, the Aboriginal First Nations Chief, and the Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, we received a positive response from key policy makers, and scored major media coverage.
Watch Chief Ernie Crey on CBC News
Vancouver Sun: B.C. aboriginals urge all genders be included in murdered women’s inquiry
Press Conference Coverage on MSN News
Watch the Press Conference, held December 8, 2016.
Watch the Special Ottawa Panel Event December 7, 2016, featuring Coalition to Expand the Inquiry members:
Chief Ernie Crey, Cheam First Nation
Adam Jones, Professor of Political Science at the University of British Columbia
Justin Trottier, Executive Director, Canadian Centre for Men and Families (coalition member organization)
More than a year after the body of 26-year-old Charles Oudie was found in a storm drain in East Vancouver, his family members are still seeking answers and say police are not returning their calls. On December 3rd the Oudie Family generously agreed to sit down with members of CCMF Vancouver to pay tribute to Charles Oudie, share their struggle for answers, and state why a gender-inclusive inquiry into missing & murdered indigenous people is important.
October 8th: Watch “Expand the Inquiry!” A public event will take place in Vancouver on Saturday, October 8th, 6:30PM – 9:30PM PDT, featuring UBC Professor of Political Science Adam Jones, who has launched a petition calling for a gender-inclusive Inquiry, and BC Indigenous leader and author Chief Ernie Crey. The event will take place at Simon Fraser University’s Harbour Centre at 515 West Hastings Street and be available online by live streaming More information here.
Special Update: Mi’kmaw Native Centre and Public Service Alliance of Canada Join the Necktie Campaign
CCMF Halifax held its Necktie Campaign on National Aboriginal Day (June 21, 2016) at the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Center in Halifax, in conjunction with a National Aboriginal Day celebration. The venue was at full capacity, with approximately 250 attendees. Debbie Eisan, administrator of the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Center, is adding neckties to the Centre’s auditorium, and keep them on display indefinitely. Lori Walton, the National Vice President for Equity at the Public Service Alliance of Canada, is doing a Tie Drive among the PSAC membership to collect the ties needed for the permanent Necktie Campaign. We would like to express my deepest gratitude to Debbie Eisan, Lori Walton, and all of the great people at the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Center and the Public Service Alliance of Canada for helping us to make the Necktie Campaign a great success.
Lydia Daniels, who is from Long Plain First Nation in Manitoba, came up with the necktie concept after being inspired by the Red Cloth Ribbons Memorial campaign that was started to honour missing and murdered Indigenous women. CCMF is proud to join Ms. Daniels’ initiative and to have her support as we launch a series of events in various parts of the country.
Join our press conference Thurday, March 31st at 11:00am local time in Toronto and Edmonton.
Toronto: Canadian Centre for Men and Families at 152 Carlton St.
Edmonton: Ezio Faraone Park (West side of the north end of the Highlevel bridge).
Manitoba: Lydia Daniels, who initiated this campaign, will support these events by hanging neckties
Victoria Island, Ottawa/Hull: Kevin Daniels, Interim National Chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples joined a delegation including representatives of the Confederation of Aboriginal People of Ontario and Quebec, Grand Chief Thomas Square and Grand Chief Roger Fleury and Sue Martin of Home Fires Burning and others supporting the Neck Tie Campaign for Missing and Murdered Men and young boys. Since April 2015, Sue Martin has been in vigil, praying for a National Inquiry for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and girls. The delegation hang neck ties in a path leading to the Dept. of Indigenous Affairs in Hull and a representative of the Minister came down to accept their gift.
Over 70% of missing and murdered indigenous people are men and boys. They should be included in the inquiry.
Adam Jones: Aboriginal men are murdered and missing far more than aboriginal women. A proper inquiry would explore both
Videos from the launch of the necktie campaign on March 31, 2016
Press Conference
CCMF Edmonton Necktie Ceremoy
CCMF Toronto Necktie Ceremony
Press Coverage
Edmonton Journal:
Edmontonians call for men to be included in inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women
Global News:
Necktie campaign urges the investigation of all cases of missing and murdered indigenous people
Men’s Issues Charity Observes Workers’ National Day of Mourning
Public Policy
Campaigns
CONTACT
Justin Trottier, Executive Director
Canadian Centre for Men and Families
jtrottier@menandfamilies.org
416-402-8856
Watch our Remembrance Ceremony for Workers Who Died on the Job
MEDIA ADVISORY – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Men’s Issues Charity Observes Workers’ National Day of Mourning
Males are 96.5% of workplace deaths; effective safety programs must target affected population
TORONTO, ON – (April 28, 2016) The Canadian Centre for Men and Families (CCMF) is participating in today’s National Day of Mourning, in remembrance of workers who have been killed, injured or suffered illness on the job.
“One workplace fatality is one too many,” said CCMF Executive Director Justin Trottier. “But to solve this tragedy we must target the affected group, and males account for the overwhelming majority of deaths on the job.”
In the period from 2005 to 2014, males made up 96.5% of workplace fatalities from occupational disease and 91% of fatalities from workplace trauma [Source: 2014 WSIB Statistical Report]. The most dangerous occupations, including construction, manufacturing and transportation, have in common that they employ a significant majority of male workers.
“As a men’s health organization, we challenge men to move away from an identity tied to behaviour that is risky or dangerous, and to demand a safer work environment for themselves and their coworkers,” said Trottier.
Women have historically been precluded from dangerous professions. While the stated goal was to protect women, dangerous jobs pay higher wages precisely because they are less desirable.
In honour of our fallen family members and friends, CCMF will hold a Day of Mourning Remembrance Ceremony today at 3:00PM EDT at the Canadian Centre for Men and Families, Toronto’s first men’s health facility, at 152 Carlton St (at Homewood Ave), in downtown Toronto.
“In solidarity with events across the country, individuals will wear black and yellow ribbons, light candles and observe a moment of silence. Stories will be shared of lost loved ones and we will renew our commitment to building a safer and more healthy workplace,” said Trottier.
CONTACT
Justin Trottier
Executive Director,
Canadian Centre for Men and Families
jtrottier@menandfamilies.org
416-402-8856
-30-
For more information visit:
Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Day of Mourning Website
2014 Statistical Report from the WSIB showing gender break-down from workplace fatalities:
Occupational Disease Fatalities (96.5%)
Canadian Men's Health Week 2015
Public Policy
Campaigns
CONTACT
Justin Trottier, Executive Director
Canadian Centre for Men and Families
jtrottier@menandfamilies.org
416-402-8856
Canadian Men’s Health Week 2015
The Canadian Centre for Men and Families is a partner agency for the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation’s Men’s Health Week 2015, which is taking place from June 15 – June 21.
For full information visit CanadianMensHealthWeek.ca
You Check – A Health Awareness Tool built especially for men
Men’s Health Week Pledge Campaign
We are asking men and their families to take the ‘one click’ health pledge at CanadianMensHealthWeek.ca and commit to better their health by making simple lifestyle changes like:
• To take the stairs instead of the elevator
• Choose salad as my side.
• Ask, “Does it come in whole wheat?”
• Get off my bus one stop earlier
• And eat more broccoli!
Today I join 1000’s of other Canadian men in taking the Pledge so I can be a healthier husband, father, son and friend.
• Women can also participate in this campaign by encouraging and challenging the men in their lives to take the pledge.
Over the week, CCMF will be posting information and tips #MensHealthWeek
Our Mission
Let’s Ignite the Men’s Health Movement!
• The Canadian Men’s Health Foundation (CMHF) launched in 2014 with the mission to inspire Canadian men to lead healthier lives. We launched the men’s health awareness campaign Don’t Change Much and it has been one of the many sparks in raising men’s health awareness
• CMHF recognizes that it will take a collaborative effort to fully ignite a men’s health and raise the consciousness of men’s health in Canada. That collaborative effort is Canadian Men’s Health Week
• Men’s Health Week takes place over 6 days concluding on Father’s Day
• The week is an open call to all Canadians to help build awareness and action to improve the health of men and families
• The week was 1st launched by CMHF in 2014 and is conducted in tandem with other burgeoning men’s health weeks in 7 countries. Since its inception in 2014 Men’s Health Week has been a collaborative effort, one where partnership is required to reach millions of men, in multiple ways and times
Objectives
In 2015 Canadian Men’s Health Week will:
• Start conversations with, for and about men about their health & well being
• Increase awareness of men’s health and its impact on the individual, the family, the workplace, and society
• Become a legacy event that will change the landscape of men’s and family health in Canada
“Canada and its families would be in a better place if our men lived more active and healthier lives,” says Dr. Larry Goldenberg, CMHF Founder. In time men’s attention to health will become second nature, like wearing seatbelts.