Rip by force terrified children from their homes, taking them away from their mothers.
Pisa, 15 June: forcible removal of an 8-year-old child removed from his mother by order of the ordinary court with theintervention of 11 public officials who forced him to make a sudden change of residence, in order to hand him over to his father with whom he has never lived - in Sicily - in the name of the so-called right to bigenitoriality.
The psychologists of Protocol Naples stigmatise thehappened, l'Order of Psychologists of Lombardy Instead, it seems to want to revive the ascientific theory of PAS. -parental alienation syndrome - a source of judicial and existential heartbreak for many mothers and children - victims of violence and abuse.
Umbria, a few days ago, a child was taken from his mother's arms and transferred to a family home, with the intervention of the medical staff. Here the harrowing account of the journalist - father of two children - who witnessed the events.
Laura Massaro is waiting for the execution of the decree that will separate her from her child forever. Together with her, other mothers and children live this daily torment. E not because of abuse, maltreatment or parental inadequacy, but because of allegations of PAS and legal actions brought by ex-husbands or partners, fathers of their children.
Antonella Penati -despite himself- is the historical memory of these horrors.
25 February 2009 her child, 8-year-old Federico Barakat, was killed by his father Mohamed during a 'protected' meeting ordered by the judge and social services in the ASL consulting room in San Donato Milanese. One gunshot and 37 stab wounds. Antonella had been judged to be an 'alienating' mother which hindered the relationship between father and son, despite a attempted murder and years of stalking by the man. "He wants to kill him" had signalled the danger. "Don't let him meet his son". Federico was afraid of his father. He had reason to fear him.
After three degrees of judgement the two social workers and the educator in charge of protecting the child were acquitted because they were not responsible. Turning to the European Court of Human Rights, Penati did not get justice there either. The court circumvented the application of the lawyers: who had the obligation to protect the life of the child entrusted to a state body? Federico's is the only case in the West of a child killed in a protected environment. The ECtHR merely affirmed the regularity of the trial. The Italian State's defence brief, which Antonella describes as scandalous, was written by the judge herself Maria Grazia Civinini who ordered the forced removal of the child from Pisa in recent days.
But the press silence on the ECHR ruling issued on 11 May is absolute.
"This judgment"says Penati "will mark the point of no return with respect to the Istanbul Convention and more generally with respect to the rights of women and children. It actually states that the State had no duty to defend Federico. But the right to life must be certain and unavailable. So who protects children during 'protected' encounters? Admitting the lack of protection of a child in public care would challenge the whole system".
Which system?
"That of family homes, cooperatives, anti-violence centres, social services working on child abduction. All silent. As if this ECHR ruling were not a problem that affects the rights of thousands of Italian and European children. In Italy alone, at least 70,000 children in the care of social and community services. My son was killed at the very moment when Pas was starting to enter the Italian courts".
Let us explain again what Pas is.
"It is a monstrous theory developed by the American forensic psychiatrist Richard Gardner, a violent misogynist and paedophile, which, before coming to Europe, had already produced devastating effects in the United States resulting in the civil, psychological and often physical death of thousands of children taken from their mothers, children who in many cases attempted and succeeded in committing suicide, and in others were victims of paedophilia. Until the American courts said enough is enough.Gardner went so far as to theorise that a mother who denounced her father for child sexual abuse was simply hysterical, unable to understand that this physical contact served the function of preparing children for their future sexuality. Gardner went so far as to theorise that a mother who denounced her father for sexually abusing her children was simply hysterical, unable to understand that these physical contacts were intended to prepare children for future sexuality.
Having died out in the US, The Pas began to spread to courts throughout Europe.
"With an exponential increase in cases. The idea that there is a definite link between figlicide and violence against the mother has never gone away, to the point where it can be said that Filicide is feminicide. Only a few years ago, the absolute scientific groundlessness of Gardner's theory was also declared in Europe. The only Western countries that do not stop using Pas are Italy and Brazil. There is no training for those responsible for the protection of women and children to recognise risk factors. Added to this is a ingrained and widespread misogynistic culture, feeding a rubbish theory based on the female malevolence. And the Law 54 on 'equal' bigenitoriality does not take into account domestic and/or witnessing violence. Above all, it does not recognise children as having rights.
However, a few weeks ago, our Court of Cassation also declared the absolute scientific groundlessness of the Pas...
"But as you see in the courts it is not given up. Ihe Pas system, as we said before, suits too many people. Even anti-violence centres, shelters and foster families. There is also the fear of going against social services, losing public funding... The lawyer who defended the three people involved in my son's case was the lawyer of an anti-violence centre. The CISMAI Italian Coordination of Services against Child Abuse and Maltreatment - brings together lawyers, judges, psychologists, third sector, anti-violence centres. When my son was killed A member of the CISMAI board of directors was among those involved. This is what I mean by a system.
So the Supreme Court's ruling will not change things?
"Probably will only change the name of the thing. To save it. From Pas, for example, you can move on to misandry, the new charge against women will be this".
Zan's bill against homobi-transphobia is also against the misandria. Its first signatory has repeatedly stated that. (we talked about it here).
"This is disconcerting. A very dangerous decision, a cleaver for women. I can already see them, these violent fathers, accusing their mothers of misandric hatred. Even easier than accusing them of Pas! This cannot be allowed to pass. I'm not at all against a law punishing homotransphobic hatred, of course not. But it has nothing to do with it. Leave misandry out of it! Leave women alone! I hope that this is just unconsciousness and that the not to wink at the powerful associations of separated fathers. The danger is the same as in the early 2000s, when people did not want to listen to the warnings about Pas: that today we do not see the risk of misandry. All women should mobilise against this.".
With the association Federico in the heart Antonella Penati continues her work against institutional violence against mothers and children-i e requested a statement from President Mattarella and Minister Marta Cartabia.
