Iowa Governor Proclaims April 25th as Parental Alienation Awareness Day
The state of Iowa has joined Maine as the second state in our nation to issue a proclamation declaring April 25th as Parental Alienation Awareness Day.
The Parental Alienation Awareness Organization (PAAO) is working hard to increase awareness of parental alienation as a disorder that can arise from divorce or custody situations. As the result of alienating behaviors by a third party, such as the other parent or family members, the relationship between a child and a loving parent can be severely damaged or destroyed.
The most common symptom of children affected by parental alienation is their severe opposition to contact with one parent and/or overt hatred towards that parent with little or no reason.
Iowa Governor Thomas Vilsack has joined in the fight against parental alienation by issuing a proclamation declaring April 25th as Parental Alienation Awareness Day. Iowa recognizes parental alienation as, “The systematic brainwashing of children with the sole purpose of destroying a loving relationship they once shared with a parent. It deprives children of their right to love and be loved by both parents.”
Robin Denison, co-founder of PAAO, likens the pain of the left-behind parent to “bereavement without end.” Co-founder Sarvy Emo states that, “Parental Alienation is a severe form of emotional child abuse.”
On April 25, 2006, the Parental Alienation Awareness Organization sponsored the first international Parental Alienation Awareness Day. Activities included letter-writing to the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations, seminars, lectures, and newspaper articles. Internationally, countries participating in these activities included the United States, Canada, Australia, the U.K., Belgium, France, Brazil, Spain, Argentina, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Italy, Portugal, Japan, Denmark, and Germany.
Within the United States, a proclamation by the governor of Maine, Governor John Baldacci, declared April 25th as Parental Alienation Awareness Day. This year, the PAAO is hoping to get as many governors on board as possible.
Both Emo and Denison agree, “With awareness comes education and understanding, and the power to stop the abuse of innocent children caught in the crossfire of the people they love.”
For more information about the PAAO and resources available to promote Parental Alienation Awareness Day, visit www.parental-alienation-awareness.com.
Abstracted from PR Newswire (12/27/06); Source: Parental Alienation Awareness Organization.
