Cash rewards could be offered by a campaign group to those who help bring child abusers to justice.
Posters, cards and signs from People Against Parental Alienation (PAPA) have been cropping up in a number of locations, including in Lynn, warning the public of potential abusers.
Set up by father Simon Cobb, it comes as part of the group’s fight for equal parenting rights for those who have been denied access to their children by ex-partners, husbands and wives following a split.
The new campaign has been labelled ‘Protect and Serve’ and says that parents who deliberately abuse children by denying them the other should be jailed.
“Manipulating a child to make them believe their other parent abandoned them when in reality they tried to be there but were forced out with lies is sick, evil and criminal,” PAPA said.
“We help protect children from this abuse.”
The posters have been plastered across the UK and have even been seen in places as far as Canada.
The group says it will be working with authorities to make direct contact with perpetrators to deter them and prevent harm to children.
“Parental alienation can be a punishable offence due to coercive controlling behaviour being a criminal offence, as is non-accidental injury to a child,” it said.
“We believe that parental alienation should be a criminal offence in its own right; however, we also recognise that alienators can be found guilty of the aforementioned offences.”
PAPA has come up with a number of warning signs that the public can look out for.
In children:
• Behavioural problems
• Anxiety and/or depression
• Unwarranted fear or hatred of the other parent
• Use of adult language or concepts
• Repeating a parent’s perspective
• Hostility towards the other parent
In parents:
• Single-parent households
• Disparaging remarks about the other parent
• Withholding information about the other parent
• Limiting contact
• Excluding the other parent from events
PAPA is asking those with information about anyone committing parental alienation to report it to them or the authorities.