A case of how courts can fail a child and the connection with the loving and safe parent.
In this case, the father was the bad parent. I post this to show, although its mostly fathers who get's alienation, this does happen to mothers as well. Which is why it is critical to always consider lived history, facts, not make judgements based on quick hearsay based hearings. And under no circumstances ever leave room for bias to gain any traction. We are talking about children's lives, not some minor issue.

Link to the full article at the bottom of this post.

When Florence (10) was ordered to live in the full custody of her abusive father, she fought back without stopping, but no one helped. After her letters to the President of the Family Court Division (Sir Andrew McFarlane) remained unanswered, she got a lawyer at age 12 and litigated against her father:
“My father joined this remote hearing downstairs on his laptop while I was upstairs instructing my lawyer, having taken him to court.”

At age 16 she won on appeal and returned to her mother!   
She cut off contact with her father.

Florence, now 20, still grieves for the years of childhood with her mother the family court stole from her. She wrote McFarlane once again: “In light of your imminent retirement, I thought it was critical to draw your attention to the detrimental impact private law proceedings have had on my life. It is so important to believe young people when they say something is wrong. It can take so much to say it and losing faith in a system designed to protect you is painful.”

McFarlane responded that he couldn’t comment on a case that he hadn’t presided over, nor on the systemic issues raised.

“It’s hard to imagine, given his position, that he can’t comment more broadly on issues that affect young people,” Florence said. “Where else can we turn?”

Florence we’re so very sorry you and your Protective Mom went through this hell as well!  
THANK YOU for staying true to yourself, for fighting back, for never giving up and for speaking out!   
You are absolutely awesome.

https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026-04-13/the-teenager-who-took-on-the-family-courts-and-won