Una cuarta parte de las llamadas al “teléfono de ayuda al niño” en Gibraltar el año pasado fueron denuncias sobre alienación parental.

CHILDLINE GIBRALTAR TRAINING TO HELP TACKLE PARENTAL ALIENATION

Callers to Childline Gibraltar want to speak about all kinds of issues; from bullying to drugs, sexual health to friendships, alcohol to pregnancy. But the most common topic is family relationships, which made up over a quarter of calls last year.

As part of Childline Gibraltar’s ongoing training programme, many of its helpline listeners attended a recent Saturday session with guest speaker Claire Borrell from local charity Women in Need. The day looked at the issue of parental alienation, which occurs when one of a child’s parents turns them against the other parent whether consciously or sub-consciously. These behaviours whether verbal or non-verbal, cause a child to be mentally manipulated or bullied into believing a loving parent is the cause of all their problems, and to be feared, hated, and avoided. This can cause long term damage to a parent-child relationship and deprive the child of the love and support that they deserve and need. Parental alienation often arises in times of divorce, conflict or violence when stresses are high and children are caught in the middle.

Childline Gibraltar’s 30 helpline volunteers will be continuing to study and develop skills regarding this topic over the coming months through research, workshops, and reviewing previous calls where parental alienation has been in evidence.

If you know of any child or family suffering from this or any other problem, Childline Gibraltar are available to listen and provide free and confidential support 365 days a year between 6-10pm on their freephone helpline 8008.

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