“I was told when I could hold, talk with or kiss our daughter”: Exploring fathers’ experiences of parental alienation within the context of intimate partner violence

Previous research has highlighted that when men describe their experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV), they frequently talk about the use of children by their abusive partners. The behaviours they describe align with descriptions of so-called ‘Parental Alienation’ (PA) where children are coercively controlled to reject one (alienated) parent in favour of the other. The situation of alienating behaviours within intimate partner and family violence structures is one that has been proposed but rarely explicitly studied. The present study analysed qualitative responses to an online survey by 171 fathers who have experienced alienating behaviours within the context of IPV. Four themes were found: Direct manipulation of contact (including relocation and control of contact), manipulation through systems (including false allegations, and court and school settings), manipulation of children (including lying directly to children about fathers and involving children in abuse), and the wider context of violence (including physical, psychological, and controlling behaviours). The experiences described by men are discussed in relation to the theoretical and practical relationship between IPV and PA, and implications for current debate around the use of PA within family court cases