Simon Cobb highlights tragic effects of parental alienation. He’s bringing his Death Penalty Campaign to court to raise awareness.
He started the Death Penalty Campaign, remembering parents who sadly died after losing access to their kids. Simon founded PAPA, supporting equal parenting after breakups. He visits courts across the country, laying wreaths as tributes that others can add to as well.
Simon Cobb’s PAPA group began this campaign to show the lives lost fighting to see kids. He said he knows many members who died, speaking of suicides among members and murders related to custody, which sadly happened in the UK too.
Simon aims to show how the system fails parents, pushing some to the edge, he says. Members have court orders to see kids, but the other parent ignores these orders, causing cases to return to court repeatedly, yet without real consequences.
This situation hurts the parent kept from their child, who spend a fortune on legal battles, as the courts don’t enforce the parenting orders. People fall into huge debt, just trying to do things right, and the protests started in late January at Peterborough Crown Court.
Protests happened at courts in other cities too, including Leicester, Boston, and Nottingham. King’s Lynn, Cambridge, and Ipswich were also included. The displays last 14 days at each court, though King’s Lynn’s display lasted only three days, and Boston’s display was removed early due to concerns.
PAPA has about 35,000 members currently and recently expanded into Canada as well. The website shares alarming statistics, stating over 200 UK kids lose a parent weekly via family court, and Australian research suggests over 21 parents die weekly. Contact denial causes emotional pain.
The website notes fathers face higher alienation rates and are more likely to die by suicide. This campaign wants to highlight this awful fact: loving children isn’t a crime.