It
is stunningly apparent that all the work done by so many parents,
professionals and concerned others is
making a difference. Every
day I hear of another attorney who
realizes he or she has been
bamboozled by Richard Gardner's Parental
Alienation Syndrome and wants to stand up for the children
and protect
them from the abusers. It isn't easy to admit you were taken in
and
fought hard to place a
child with a sexual abuser.
It is with
admiration and thanks I honor those who step forward to say so.
The
Professors at Stanford Medical School and Santa Clara University Law
School and all the other
professionals who have worked so
hard to
present the facts behind the syndrome are to be applauded.
Parental
Alienation Snydrome...not to be missed!
Richard Gardner 's Views on
Pedophilia [2]
Gardner
(1992b, pp.
670-71) considers sexual activities between adults and
children to be part of the natural repertoire of human sexual activity
and
suggests that pedophilia may enhance the survival of the human species
by serving "procreative purposes" (1992b, p. 24-5). According to Gardner
(1992b, p. 593), "pedophilia has been considered the norm by the vast
majority of individuals in the history of the world" and "it is a
widespread
and accepted practice among literally billions of people."
It should be noted that Gardner's views on pedophilia are at odds with
the scientific
research on child sexual abuse which has consistently and conclusively
shown
the negative long-term effects of sexual abuse on children's lives
(e.g., Fergusson,
Horwood, & Lynskey, 1996; Johnson, Cohen, Brown, Smailes, &
Bernstein, 1999;
Silverman, Reinherz, & Giaconia, 1996).
