If you are going through a divorce or you are already divorced and experiencing parental alienation by the other parent you are not alone. Parental alienation describes a process through which a child becomes estranged from a parent as the result of the psychological manipulation of another parent. Usually the alienating parent suffers from narcissistic tendencies and or a borderline personality disorder.
We have been involved in the attached case where a mother abducted our client’s son in Denmark and returned to South Africa with him. The mother embarked on a campaign to alienate the child from the father. We launched a High Court application for the return of our client’s son to Denmark, and we succeeded in getting a return order.
The Judge of the High Court ordered the mother to go and fetch the child from her home so that the father could exercise contact to the child before his return to Denmark. The mother never came back. She disappeared with the 4-year-old child and has gone underground. The High Court Judge showed his displeasure by authorising a warrant for her arrest. She remains a fugitive on the run.
Many months have passed and the police have not found him. We were concerned that they were not searching for the child. We launched further proceedings in court and once again we were successful. The police have been ordered to actively investigate the matter and use all resources available to them to find our client’s son.
All that our client can think about is whether his son is alive, whether he is okay and whether he will ever be reunited with him again.
This case is important because we succeeded in getting an order for the child to return to Denmark, and a further order forcing the police to make sure that they use all resources at their disposal to find the child. This is unheard of in South Africa and sets a precedent for parents who try abducting and/ or alienating their children not to take the law into their own hands and commit human rights violations that are not in the best interests of children, as they will face the wrath of the law.
To read this FULL article view THIS SUNDAY TIMES link: https://www.timeslive.co.za/…/2020-10-04-sa-doctor-on-the-…/
We specialise in Hague Convention and International Child Abduction. For more information about child law please view this link : https://benitaardenbaum.com/child-law/international-child-abduction/
If you are going through parental alienation we can help you. We will protect your rights and the rights of your child or children. Please contact us at 031 536 6000 or [email protected] if you require any assistance.
Author – Benita Ardenbaum
