Children’s rights to know and stay with both parents
Information
The severity of the cases varies and can range from scenarios where one parent occasionally calls the other parent a derogatory name - to a situation where the parent’s campaign harms or destroys the relationship between the child and the other parent. This is mental abuse and violence against the child.
According to article 19 in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, all children have a right to protection against violence. Article 7 in the Convention states that children have a right to know and stay with both parents.
Although the alienating parent is responsible, other family members or friends involved with the family may contribute significantly to the process. The system and legislature have little means or resources to deal with the psychological abuse and the cases can drag on for years, most of the time without ever being resolved. During this painful process the child and the targeted parent drift further and further apart.
The consequences on the child can be both mental and physical illness and can last throughout the child's life. Those include anxiety, loss of the ability to trust and to establish and maintain a relationship in their adult lives.
Children who loose contact with one parent also lose out on the possibility to know the other family and miss out on the support they could have from the targeted family and the opportunity to earn a better understanding of themselves, both as a child and as an adult.
Awareness campaign
The documentary is a part of an awareness campaign run by the Association of Equal Parental Rights with support from the ICE-CCFR of the University of Iceland (a research and educational institution within the Department of Social Work) and Barnaheill - Save the Children Iceland.
The focus is on the children's rights to protection against violence and their rights to know and stay with both parents.
The goal of the campaign is to make the public aware about the harmful effects of such circumstances, which can also be quite hidden. If a child is not in contact with one parent suspicions should arise about something not being right.
Documentary
A one hour documentary will give a good insight into the subject, including interviews with specialists; a university professor, family therapist, psychologist and lawyer. Personal accounts will be given by grown up children and parents who share their experiences.
A short TV advertisement directed by Baldvin Z will draw attention to the matter.
The documentary will be premiered in autumn 2016.
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