Stan Korosi

Parental alienation (PA) is a contested yet increasingly recognised phenomenon at the cutting edge of contemporary families. The PA field straddles the intersection of family dynamics, power, gender and politics. Defined by behaviours one parent adopts to manipulate a child into rejecting the other parent without reasonable grounds, PA is a form of social and psychological abuse and coercive control with significant public health implications. Critics often dismiss PA as a pseudo-concept or patriarchal discourse. Yet, according to extensive research, alienating behaviours are agnostic to gender. They result in adverse outcomes for children regardless of the family member's gender. This article situates PA as a form of "discursive violence" that restructures family relationships and undermines children's needs and rights. It traces the evolution of the concept from Gardner's "Parental Alienation Syndrome" to contemporary nonmedicalised approaches, noting how ideological disputes-particularly with gendered theories of domestic violence-shape its reception in law and policy. Globally, some jurisdictions have policies and laws to address PA, while others, such as Australia, maintain ambivalence, influenced by ideological contestation. Drawing on international experience and policy debates, the article argues for recognising PA as a gender agnostic form of relational abuse requiring integrated evidence-based policy and legal reform. It concludes that policy should adopt a childcentred, needs and rights-based framework that acknowledges the harms of alienation, balances protection from abuse with maintaining parental relationships. It should resist