Italian psychologists take action against gender violence and parental alienation

The Order of Psychologists of Lombardy and the Carabinieri have renewed their collaboration to combat gender violence. Following national protocols, the Lombardy branch will organize eight training seminars across the region to enhance the behavioral psychology skills of Carabinieri personnel. This initiative aims to improve the approach toward vulnerable victims and support investigations through the National Network for monitoring gender violence.

Separately, the Equal Opportunities Committee of the National Council of the Order of Psychologists (CNOP) has issued an open letter to the Minister of Justice, Carlo Nordio. The committee opposes the use of the 'parental alienation syndrome' (PAS) construct in judicial proceedings involving minors. They are calling for an end to forced reunification interventions and requesting that psychological training exclude PAS to ensure that a parent's fear of a violent caregiver is not misidentified as a symptom to be corrected.