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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Parental Alienation expert: Witch Hunt or Witch Hunter

18 replies

IwantToRetire · 29/06/2026 20:37

How has a person with a faux CV been allowed to recommend ‘draconian’ decisions about children and families in the name of P.A.?

And why have some judges been reluctant to consider challenges to her credentials and credibility.

https://beatrixcampbell.substack.com/p/melanie-gill-witch-hunt-or-witch

See also thread from last year https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5432222-woman-who-lost-custody-of-children-has-experts-evidence-overturned?page=1

Woman who lost custody of children has expert’s evidence overturned | Mumsnet

^A mother has won a landmark legal battle to overturn the evidence of an unregulated psychologist that resulted in her losing custody of her daughters...

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5432222-woman-who-lost-custody-of-children-has-experts-evidence-overturned?page=1

OP posts:
Notmycircusnotmyotter · 29/06/2026 20:53

Why does Melanie Gill hate women?! That's terrifying. Poor mother.

Hedgehogforshort · 29/06/2026 21:10

I once came across her in court, as an expert witness myself. She was making a good living.

ScrollingLeaves · 29/06/2026 21:51

That is horrific. It is somehow like the post office scandal.

This is so wrong:

The Victims Commissioner, Clare Waxman and Right to Equality, a campaign for reform of the family courts, have called for a review of Gill’s cases. The government is worried about unregulated experts, but rejected a review. The demand exposes a lacuna in the family courts: in criminal justice, there is a system to address unjust convictions, the Criminal Cases Review Commission. It has been severely criticised for multiple failures following privatisation, cuts and a devalued forensic science sector stuck in ‘a graveyard spiral.’

Yet it exists while there is no equivalent in the family court system, and no mechanism to address the possible miscarriages of justice to which James Munby referred.

What be done to change this?

https://futurejustice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/FS_Digital_latest.pdf

IwantToRetire · 29/06/2026 22:15

What be done to change this?

This is partly why I posted this. I had sort of assumed that somehow it had been dealt with, but maybe not. Let alone anyone taking responsibility for the children's lives that have been if not ruined far worse than they need have been.

Bea Campbell's article finishes with:

New transparency rules, now operational nationwide, enable a wider audience to access Gill’s idiosyncratic methods, her defiance of judicial practice directions, and her belief that children’s expressed wishes and feelings can be ignored because they have been brainwashed, and don’t have the ‘neurological architecture’ to think about what’s going on in their lives.

This obviously contravenes judicial directions and judgements that stress the importance of a factual matrix and actual behaviour, rather than theory or ideological concepts that was emphasised in the landmark case, Re C (‘Parental Alienation’; Instruction of Expert).

So far, however, judges have decided that the courts are not an ‘appropriate’ forum to assess the honesty of Gill’s CVs. Though P.A. and pseudo science seem to be done for in family courts, the legacy bequeathed to children of ‘draconian’ judgements and ruined lives, proposed by identified and unidentified, registered and unregistered ‘experts’ and accepted by judges, is yet to be addressed.

OP posts:
IwantToRetire · 29/06/2026 22:23

Notmycircusnotmyotter · 29/06/2026 20:53

Why does Melanie Gill hate women?! That's terrifying. Poor mother.

Bea Campbell's article sort of implies it is because she is a right wing (a Conservative) reactionary.

But even if that were the reason, doesn't explain why she has dedicated her life to interjecting herself into situations where she has no right to be.

OP posts:
OP posts:
mrshoho · 29/06/2026 22:36

It's appalling that her opinion held such sway and has been so devastating in these cases.

ScrollingLeaves · 29/06/2026 22:40

IwantToRetire · 29/06/2026 22:15

What be done to change this?

This is partly why I posted this. I had sort of assumed that somehow it had been dealt with, but maybe not. Let alone anyone taking responsibility for the children's lives that have been if not ruined far worse than they need have been.

Bea Campbell's article finishes with:

New transparency rules, now operational nationwide, enable a wider audience to access Gill’s idiosyncratic methods, her defiance of judicial practice directions, and her belief that children’s expressed wishes and feelings can be ignored because they have been brainwashed, and don’t have the ‘neurological architecture’ to think about what’s going on in their lives.

This obviously contravenes judicial directions and judgements that stress the importance of a factual matrix and actual behaviour, rather than theory or ideological concepts that was emphasised in the landmark case, Re C (‘Parental Alienation’; Instruction of Expert).

So far, however, judges have decided that the courts are not an ‘appropriate’ forum to assess the honesty of Gill’s CVs. Though P.A. and pseudo science seem to be done for in family courts, the legacy bequeathed to children of ‘draconian’ judgements and ruined lives, proposed by identified and unidentified, registered and unregistered ‘experts’ and accepted by judges, is yet to be addressed.

So far, however, judges have decided that the courts are not an ‘appropriate’ forum to assess the honesty of Gill’s CVs

What is an appropriate forum?
The fact that they are dishonest CVs is known, so what is left?

Hedgehogforshort · 29/06/2026 22:43

the problem i think is that in cases she was appointed to there was poor scrutiny or lack of opposing experts due to legal funding, self representation.

the gap in legal aid is the true culprit.

Soliloquai · 29/06/2026 22:50

It's disturbingly easy to style yourself as an "expert witness". My fake psychotherapist did it (along with a lot of other total fabrications to make her look legitimate). When I found out she was fake (not qualified at all in any therapy), I did some digging. She registered on an expert witness aggregation website and just called herself a "therapist" instead of a psychologist, but her (self-styled) title "Professor Doctor" did all the heavy lifting for her. She also got in on police training via her husband's connections. She wasn't even a qualified therapist but she somehow got herself on the board for one of the more crunchy regulatory bodies. Her PhD was in history!

I was appalled at how straightforward it seemed for her to become an expert witness and influence the police. It seems the people appointing expert witnesses use Self-ID to assess their expertise: If they say they're experts, and have a credible-looking website or SM, it's believed. I'd never trust an expert witness without seeing their credentials now. Anyone can become one if they choose the category carefully.

And that might be why the government won't reopen these cases. There are so many fake expert witnesses out there who have wrongly influenced court cases that I'd imagine the former director of public prosecutions and incumbent PM (for now) is very scared to open this can of worms.

Soliloquai · 29/06/2026 23:15

This is also what scares the shit out of me about how they've got that new law to strip abusive parents of their parental rights. They can't seem to find the abusers with a fucking map. Erin's case had medical and police evidence and they still said she was the abuser. Those silver-tongued lying pieces of shit abusive men will just have more of a vested interest in proving their wives/gfs are crazy or unstable (their favourite allegation) and fabricating everything. I'm so angry that this sort of thing is happening (and that even in light of this, lots of people won't believe that it's happening). People are just so ready to blame women and not believe them.

ScrollingLeaves · 29/06/2026 23:41

Soliloquai · 29/06/2026 22:50

It's disturbingly easy to style yourself as an "expert witness". My fake psychotherapist did it (along with a lot of other total fabrications to make her look legitimate). When I found out she was fake (not qualified at all in any therapy), I did some digging. She registered on an expert witness aggregation website and just called herself a "therapist" instead of a psychologist, but her (self-styled) title "Professor Doctor" did all the heavy lifting for her. She also got in on police training via her husband's connections. She wasn't even a qualified therapist but she somehow got herself on the board for one of the more crunchy regulatory bodies. Her PhD was in history!

I was appalled at how straightforward it seemed for her to become an expert witness and influence the police. It seems the people appointing expert witnesses use Self-ID to assess their expertise: If they say they're experts, and have a credible-looking website or SM, it's believed. I'd never trust an expert witness without seeing their credentials now. Anyone can become one if they choose the category carefully.

And that might be why the government won't reopen these cases. There are so many fake expert witnesses out there who have wrongly influenced court cases that I'd imagine the former director of public prosecutions and incumbent PM (for now) is very scared to open this can of worms.

Edited

How do you ask to see credentials? Ask to see a certificate then contact the issuing body to check it is genuine?

ScrollingLeaves · 30/06/2026 00:17

Soliloquai · 29/06/2026 23:15

This is also what scares the shit out of me about how they've got that new law to strip abusive parents of their parental rights. They can't seem to find the abusers with a fucking map. Erin's case had medical and police evidence and they still said she was the abuser. Those silver-tongued lying pieces of shit abusive men will just have more of a vested interest in proving their wives/gfs are crazy or unstable (their favourite allegation) and fabricating everything. I'm so angry that this sort of thing is happening (and that even in light of this, lots of people won't believe that it's happening). People are just so ready to blame women and not believe them.

I heard a very disturbing thing through a programme on the Radio 4 yesterday evening

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002xzj4?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

8:25 minutes in

In research called ‘Code for Good Now’ carried out by Zehra Chatoo, 1000 people were given job applications to review which were identical except for the fact that some were given a woman’s name and some a man’s. Those given a woman’s were thought by 22% of the reviewers to be untrustworthy snd 50% of reviewers judged them to be lacking in competence. Gen Z were especially critical reviewers of the ‘women’s’.

The patriarchy is strong.

The Artificial Human - Are we all AI hypocrites? - BBC Sounds

Aleks and Kevin ask why we dislike receiving AI content while quietly using it ourselves?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002xzj4?origin=share-mobile&partner=uk.co.bbc

Soliloquai · 30/06/2026 01:25

ScrollingLeaves · 29/06/2026 23:41

How do you ask to see credentials? Ask to see a certificate then contact the issuing body to check it is genuine?

In my case the therapist had everything hiding in plain sight on her CV on her own website, but it was a pack of lies. E.g. she claimed she trained as a psychologist in the USA but there were no details of where, when or with whom, and she claimed she was a member of APA but when I searched the APA (American Psychological Association) members, she wasn't one, and wasn't a member of any UK body that actually had a code of conduct (except for the crunchy one she was on the board of, which wasn't a nationally recognised association or professional body), so there was no accountability for what she was doing.

Soliloquai · 30/06/2026 01:28

ScrollingLeaves · 30/06/2026 00:17

I heard a very disturbing thing through a programme on the Radio 4 yesterday evening

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002xzj4?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

8:25 minutes in

In research called ‘Code for Good Now’ carried out by Zehra Chatoo, 1000 people were given job applications to review which were identical except for the fact that some were given a woman’s name and some a man’s. Those given a woman’s were thought by 22% of the reviewers to be untrustworthy snd 50% of reviewers judged them to be lacking in competence. Gen Z were especially critical reviewers of the ‘women’s’.

The patriarchy is strong.

Geez that's worrying. No wonder so many young women are declaring themselves NB. Everything seemed to be getting so much better in the early 2000s, or at least on an upward trajectory, and it's just all gone a bit shit now.

IwantToRetire · 30/06/2026 02:03

@Soliloquai so sorry to hear what happened to you. And agree it does seem too easy.

I can see in some situations that most people would take others at face value. Not immediately think this could be someone being fraudulent.

But in the instance of the law, you would have thought it absolutely the first thing.

And then having it been exposed, nobody is prepared to say that this means we have to re-examine every case they were involved in

Added to which, what is it that makes some people do this. Its one thing in say a social way somebody pretending they are someone a bit different to who they really are. But to go into an area of work that will actually impact others lives, and the lives of children.

They must be really strange people.

OP posts:
DrBlackbird · Yesterday 09:05

mrshoho · 29/06/2026 22:36

It's appalling that her opinion held such sway and has been so devastating in these cases.

And then you start to think about how easy it is for someone’s ‘opinions’ like these to become codified in a LLM and suddenly it’s not a human’s decision, which can be challenged, but an algorithm’s’ decision. One that becomes much harder if not impossible to challenge. The potential for harm escalates.

Edited to add some research: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10506-024-09389-8

DrBlackbird · Yesterday 09:34

Notmycircusnotmyotter · 29/06/2026 20:53

Why does Melanie Gill hate women?! That's terrifying. Poor mother.

Meanwhile, Gill maintains she is the target of a witch hunt orchestrated by aggrieved mothers, feminist campaigners, journalists and psychologists.

Gill might not have hated women. It could’ve been that she instinctively played on the courts embedded misogyny towards women. Many within the court system (judges, clerks, barristers, the whole adversarial system itself) allowed her to enact her grandiosity delusions, her disturbing need for attention, and her desire for power over others. Haven't we all met women like that?

But I’d have been surprised if she had equally acted as a parental alienation expert against fathers. It’d have been risky. But mothers? Not really. She could count on how many in the court system are more than happy to disbelieve women’s testimony and put them in their place.

Hannah Proudfoots book is testimony to that and amongst my friends are several women and their children who have hurt by courts refusing to believe them. It’s another shocking scandal waiting to be fully uncovered.

Perhaps it’s no surprise that the judiciary were also captured by genderist ideology? It’s taken root and flourished wherever misogyny, deference to men, and casual disregard for women’s needs exists but crucially also where there has been a veneer or pretence of liberalism.

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