PRESS RELEASE
Contact: G. Lawrence DeMarco, LLM
Email: info@menandboys.net
Phone: +1-215-901-1930
PA Awareness Day Exposes Global Campaign to Rebrand Parental Alienation
April 22, 2026 — With International Parental Alienation Awareness Day approaching on April 25, renewed attention is being directed to a form of child abuse that continues to be obscured by politics, ideology, and misinformation. Parental alienation is a mental condition in which a child, usually during a high-conflict separation or divorce, aligns strongly with one parent and rejects a relationship with the other parent without good reason. (1)
One prominent distortion is Sonia Vaccaro’s rebranding of the issue. In Violencia vicaria: Golpear donde más duele, Sonia Vaccaro defines “vicarious violence” as violence against women in which a violent man uses children to harm the mother because they are “her most vulnerable part.” (2)
That framing has drawn a direct scientific rebuttal. The 2024 bilingual Statement of Research Integrity on Vicarious Violence or Through an Intermediary reviewed 77 publications on vicarious violence, but found only two that met the authors’ standards for full inclusion. The report warned that the evidence is too weak to support “vicarious violence” as a distinct scientific construct and argued that the label can obscure established parental alienation dynamics. (3)
The flaw is clear. “Vicarious violence” turns a gender-neutral family problem into only a men-harming-women construct, and blurs the line between parental alienation, abuse, and post-separation conflict. (2)(3)
Spain has deepened that confusion. In September 2025, Spain announced a draft law on “vicarious violence” that defines it as violence against a woman through another person. (4) This project mandates gender-bias training for judges and allows the suspension of visitation rights based on mere ‘indications,’ prioritizing political ideology over clinical evidence.
Argentina has moved the same way. In 2024, a bill was introduced to add vicarious violence to Argentina’s law on violence against women. (5)(6)(7) These efforts likewise frame the issue through a women-only legal lens, even though the underlying family dynamic is not sex-specific.
In response, the Parental Alienation Study Group (PASG)(8), a collection of research scientists dedicated to truth and accuracy in parental alienation research, published Parental Alienation Theory: Official Synopsis (9). It describes it as a concise statement of key principles as a united voice for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. It issued a free PDF of the book on its website as a public service to clarify parental alienation theory and fight disinformation.
April 25 is Parental Alienation Awareness Day. The observance is an opportunity for lawmakers, journalists, judges, and advocates to reject disinformation, raise awareness of parental alienation and its international awareness day, and work to repeal gender-specific laws that misclassify non-gender-based family problems. (10) We encourage your direct participation.
The International Council for Men and Boys is a non-governmental organization working to end the 12 sex disparities that affect men and boys worldwide. The ICMB is a leader of the emerging global movement to address these disparities. https://www.menandboys.net/
Links:
(1) https://www.pasg.info/external-resources/the-five-factor-model-for-the-diagnosis-of-parental-alienation
https://www.pasg.info/s/20250627-PASG-Book-ParentalAlienationTheory-final.pdf
(2) https://www.edesclee.com/serendipity-maior/2478-violencia-vicaria.html
(3) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/385851466_Declaracion_de_Integridad_cientifica_en_Violencia_Vicaria_o_por_Interposita_Persona_-_Statement_of_Research_Integrity_on_Vicarious_Violence_or_Through_an_Intermediary
(4) https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/lang/en/gobierno/councilministers/paginas/2025/20250930-council-press-conference.aspx
(5) https://www.diputados.gov.ar/comisiones/permanentes/cmujeresydiv/proyecto.html?exp=0709-D-2024
(6) https://www.diputados.gov.ar/comisiones/permanentes/cmujeresydiv/reuniones/parte.html?fecha=30%2F07%2F2024&id_reunion=11448
(7) https://www.diputados.gov.ar/comisiones/permanentes/cmujeresydiv/proyecto.html?exp=7330-D-2024
(8) https://www.pasg.info
(9) https://www.pasg.info/pa-theory-official-synopsis
(10) https://nationaldaycalendar.com/celebrations/parental-alienation-day-april-25/