Parental Alienation Awareness

If you’ve landed here, you probably know the feeling: losing a child not to fate, but to lies, manipulation, and a broken system that looks the other way. Maybe it happened overnight. Maybe it happened slowly, until one day your son or daughter stopped calling, stopped visiting, or stopped calling you “dad” or “mom” at all.

That’s what happened to me. I’m Mike Sullivan. I’m not a lawyer, not a therapist, not a lobbyist. I’m a dad. A loving, caring parent who raised his son with every ounce of devotion I had. And yet, it’s been more than six years since I’ve seen or spoken to him. Six years of birthdays missed. Six years of silence. Six years where one parent’s manipulation and a family court system unwilling to act have left me cut out of my own child’s life.

For anyone who thinks this is just a family spat or a bad divorce, let me tell you: this is a grief unlike any other. It is losing a child without closure, like watching them vanish on a ship lost at sea. They are alive, somewhere, but unreachable. Every day that goes by, the chance of healing slips further away.

For a while, I thought I was alone in this nightmare. Then I learned the truth: there are millions of us. Parents, grandparents, siblings, even children themselves. Parental alienation doesn’t care about money, language, or background. It is abuse, pure and simple. And it is happening everywhere.

That’s why I built this project and wrote this paper. Silence helps nobody but the abusers. The research is clear. The numbers are staggering. The harm is lifelong. And the system is failing far too many families.

Here’s what you’ll find in the pages that follow:

• Prevalence and scope - how widespread parental alienation really is, and why it matters.
• Perpetrators and victims - who alienates, who gets alienated, and the patterns behind it.
• Harms and consequences - the damage it does to children and to parents, both immediate and long-term.
• Divorce, custody disputes, and the legal system - why our courts so often fail to protect families.
• Systemic and societal impact - what this epidemic is costing all of us, not just the families directly involved.

Children need both caring parents. They are not weapons. They are not bargaining chips. No parent should have to live this way, and no child should have to deny half of who they are just to survive.

This project is a call to action. If we don’t raise our voices, nothing changes. If we don’t shine a light on this abuse, it keeps thriving in the dark. My story is one of millions, but together, our voices can’t be ignored.

Get Involved / Raise Awareness

If you want to help change this, please check out this petition to make parental alienation a crime.

If you have a story, or just want to connect, contact me here.

And if you know someone going through this-share this page with them. Sometimes the worst part of alienation is thinking you’re alone.

Make Your Voice Heard

One of the biggest problems with parental alienation is no one is ever held accountable for their actions, which only perpetuates the tragedy. They get away with it, and no one draws the line for them to face the consequences.

Help eliminate the tragedy of parental alienation and make those responsible for it accountable. It is important to make our political leaders address this extremely serious and damaging issue.

Sign thePetitions

• Make parental alienation a crime: Change.org
• Hold child protective services accountable for inaccurate cases: Change.org

New research entries and updates will be posted below as this project grows. Check back, share, and let’s shine a light on this together.