Our Side Speaks on Houston PBS Affiliate

October 30, 2005

PBS is a publicly-funded institution and its conduct is of concern to all citizens. PBS's Mission Statement states that one of the central aims of its programming is to "provide multiple viewpoints" and "treat complex social issues completely." Breaking the Silence misses the mark by a wide margin.

The film does not "treat the issue completely," but instead gives only one side of the story, a side which cherry-picked a few highly unusual cases and pretended that they represent a widespread problem. Our campaign's demand--that fatherhood and shared parenting advocates be given a chance for a meaningful, on air, national response to the film--is entirely consistent with PBS's stated goals and aims. In fact, it is far more consistent with them than Breaking the Silence is.

To its credit, Houston PBS made and followed through on a commitment to allow our side to air its views on its round-table discussion show The Connection on Friday, October 28 at 8 PM CST and again on Sunday, October 30 at 5 PM CST. We commend Ken Lawrence, the Director of Programming for PBS of Houston, for his evenhandedness.

Help Stop PAS Inc., a Houston based non-profit set up in the wake of the Lohstroh/Parental Alienation tragedy, has done excellent work around Breaking the Silence: Children's Stories. Below is a report on Friday's show from two of their leaders, Executive Director Dr. Laird Sweet, and Administrative Director Barbara Sweet.

Making The Connection: Breaking the Silence on PAS

The Public Broadcasting System continues to air the pseudo documentary, Breaking The Silence: Children’s Stories, despite the misleading information it presents regarding child abuse, fathers, Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) and the family court system. To its credit, Houston PBS made the decision to hold a round table discussion regarding the documentary on their weekly program The Connection. The show first aired on Friday, October 28.

Three of the guests opposed the views of the documentary: Dr. Reena Sommer, a psychologist and Research Director of Help Stop PAS, Andy Sperling, the Director of Fathers for Equal Rights in Houston, and family law attorney Reginald Hirsch. Tom Burton from Justice for Children was there to support the views presented in the film.

The program jumped right to a discussion regarding the validity of PAS. Burton took the stance that PAS was simply “junk science,” and falsely stated that PAS had been debunked by the American Psychological Association.

To make his point Burton resorted to personal attacks on Dr. Richard Gardner, who coined the term PAS. He went on to say that most abusers were men and that no one could dispute this fact, that “protective parents” were mainly mothers, and that child abuse can never be disproved without a jury trial. The most ridiculous statement Burton made was “children don’t lie--adults lie.”

All of these statements were refuted by the other members of the panel. Dr. Sommer cited a recent study by the US Department of Health and Human Services published in 2005 by the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect which states that 58% of all child abuse is perpetrated by women. Sperling also validated PAS and correctly asserted that PAS is not a gender issue, it’s a parenting issue.

Hirsch called for more emphasis to be put into remedies rather than debate. All three agreed that when actual abuse has occurred, a child is justified in rejecting a parent, but that when a healthy relationship between a parent and child deteriorates after divorce for no apparent reason, there is pathology involved.

Burton had no response to the facts presented by the other members of the panel other than to repeat his position that PAS was “junk science.”

Throughout the program Burton insisted that he and his group were first and foremost child advocates, while at the same time he ignored the plight of children who were being mentally abused or manipulated by one parent into destroying a healthy and beneficial relationship with the other. He defended a program which cast fathers as abusive and mothers as protective parents in the face of statistics that prove mothers abuse children more often than fathers. He justified the removal of fathers from the lives of their children, even though it has been proven that the loss of either parent by a child often results in long-term  delinquency and relationship problems. These statements hurt  Burton’s credibility.

PA and PAS are not gender issues. When a parent, for whatever reason, attempts to destroy a healthy relationship between their children and the child’s other parent, there is a disorder present. Groups such as Justice for Children need to stop making gender issues out of parenting issues, realize that both fathers and mothers engage in alienating behavior, and focus on a resolution to the problem. There is no reason that our children should have to endure this kind of emotional abuse, and it is our obligation as a society to find a remedy.

Dr. Laird Sweet, Executive Director, and Barbara “Judy” Sweet, Administrative Director, Help Stop PAS - a 501 (c) (3) non-profit public charity