Panel discussion on children affected by parental separation and shared parenting as a way forward

Panel discussion on children affected by parental separation and shared parenting as a way forward

The event, atled “Forgotten Voices in Fomaly Disputes. Addressing Parental Alienation is India, highlighted the critical issue of Parental Alienation Syndrome and its impact on children’s mental health and overall well-being

Moderated by Vasanthi Hariprakash

Bengaluru, 10th December 2024: Ayushman Initiative for Child Rights, a public charitable trust working for the rights of alienated children throughout India, & MILAAP for co-parenting, a platform for non-custodial parents, hosted a panel discussion on Forgotten Voices in Family Disputes: Addressing Parental Alienation in India, at the Press Club Bengaluru, on 10th December 2024.

The event brought together a diverse panel of speakers that included Advocate Juhi Damodar, President of the Child Welfare Committee, Udupi District, Prof. Sunita K Mani, a mental health expert, Gazal Raina, Founder of MILAAP for co-parenting. Arijit Mitra, Founder, Ayushman Initiative for Child Rights and alienated parents Pepe Zalba and Kaustav Das who shared their personal experiences. The panel was moderated by journalist Vasanthi Hariprakash

Advocate Juhi Damodar highlighted the legal fraternity’s role and the judiciary’s responsibility in protecting the rights of alienated children. Prof. Sunita K Mani discussed the mental health challenges faced by alienated children and therapies to address them. Pepe Zalba shared insights on fostering compassion for alienated children, while Gazal Raina and Kaustav Das shared their personal experiences as alienated parents, with Kaustav offering strategies for reversing parental alienation.

The panel discussion highlighted recent reports on the rising number of divorce and child custody cases in India and their impact on children’s mental health due to parental alienation. Studies show India’s divorce rate has doubled in the last two decades, with urban cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata seeing rates exceeding 30%. Bengaluru ranks second among the top states in divorce cases.

Commenting on the subject, Arijit Mitra, one of the Founders & Trustee, Ayushman Initiative For Child Rights said. ” A United Nation Women Report titled “Progress of the World’s Women 2019-2020″ highlights that 4.5% of Indian households are run by single mothers. This indicates that lakhs of children live separated from one of their parents Parental Alienation affects close 10 Lakh children in India every year. Through this initiative, we want to highlight this pressing issue and advocate for shared parenting as a legal norm to ensure the emotional and inental well-being of children who are caught in the middle of divorce or custody battles”.

The Law Commission Report 257 and is relevance to shared parenting as a law was discussed at the event.

Juhi Damodar, President of the Child Welfare Committee, Udupi District, said, it is observed in the Indian Courts that at least 6 out of 10 children are manipulated to treat the non-custodial parent with hostility and hatred. Parental Alienation Syndrome causes severe emotional and psychological stress on the child. To address this, we need to create a legal framework that ensures the rights of alienated children and we need to work towards protecting their mental well-being. We need more organizations like Ayushman Initiative & MILAAP that are actively advocating for systemic changes to address this issue and promoting shared parenting”

Gazal Raina, founder and the motivating force behind MILAAP stressed on the need to keep one’s mental health proper and to evolve oneself beyond this personal phenomena and the situation and to look at things in a positive way for brighter things ahead. Dr Mani herein laid the stress of therapy and an innovative idea called the DIY Emotional First Aid Kit which can help to relieve stress from such issues.

Vasanthi Haripraakash, the moderator for the event and owner of Pickle Jar Media moderated the event with her usual guile and forte and stressed her support for the cause and the children. She dwelled on some real life anecdotes and on humane aspects of Parental alienation and its impact on Society at large.

The organisers informed that few Public Interest Litigations on shared parenting and parenting guidelines have been filed in the Supreme Court of India and in the High Courts of Calcutta and Karnataka where AIFCR is the petitioner and intervening parties. (details available on request)

Vote of thanks was delivered by Gazal Raina on behalf of the organisers at the press meet held at press club of Bangalore.

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