Is FII a modern witch-hunt?
A colleague I’ve witnessed struggle for a few years shared the below Facebook post (sorry I can only figure out how to give link to post page, not actual post…)
She’s been on an exhausting and scary journey because professionals haven’t figured out what’s going on with her young daughter.
This means that basic needs, such as adaptations at school, have not yet been met.
AND she’s up against a new practice interfacing with anxious mothers like her—questionable and concerning professional behavior in the fields of medicine, education, and child protective services.
The mental health condition—Münchausen syndrome—also known as factitious disorder where a person imagines health problems, has been expanded and is being used, without academic or professional validation.
Some consider this expansion as an unethical, unhelpful, and even dangerous practice.
- The new (non)diagnosis is called Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII).
And parents are even losing custody of their children based on this loosely defined and unsubstantiated category of behaviors and concerns.
Some (mostly well educated) anxious parents insistent on further investigations until they find out what’s going on with their child… invisible problems with no physical markers or lab tests to conclusively identify the problem … are now losing their children to foster care.
Medical power saying you’ve got to accept how WE see it (we don’t see anything wrong with your child) is happening to families and child protective services is enforcing these medical decisions.
Below is the 5-23-25 facebook post by Michael Charles (special needs law specialist) and a link to a harrowing YouTube interview on the topic.
The overall point and call to action is this:
- End the safeguarding culture that punishes parental knowledge, emotion, or pain.
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https://www.facebook.com/
“𝗜𝗳 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺, 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝘀.”
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗜𝗹𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗹 —𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗲
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘮𝘢.
This week, I received a report that I believe is a critically important social justice document. It may not yet be on front pages, but really it should be.I was asked to read it and I did last night.
The report, arising from a consultation held at St George’s House, Windsor Castle, exposes the escalating misuse of Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII) allegations accusations made by professionals that parents are inventing or exaggerating their child’s illness. It sounds extreme. But the reality is worse.
- FII is not a clinical diagnosis. It has no solid scientific basis. It is rooted in a now discredited theory "Meadow’s Law" which led to multiple wrongful convictions of mothers, including Sally Clark and Angela Cannings, and even deaths from trauma, shame, and institutional failure.
Yet this same ideology is alive and well in our safeguarding system.
- Here is what the report found:
FII is increasingly used against autistic, disabled or neurodivergent mothers especially those who are educated and ask questions.
It is often triggered by normal parental advocacy. for instance, asking for a second opinion, challenging an EHCP, or disagreeing with a diagnosis.
Social workers and teachers untrained in complex medical needs refer families without understanding neurodivergence, trauma, or masking.
The RCPCH guidance encourages professionals to view anxiety, confusion, even grief, as “alerting signs”.
Families lose children often for months or years without trial or criminal charge.
These families face debt, isolation, stigma, and lifelong digital alerts in NHS and social care systems even when cleared.
- Who is most often accused? Mothers. Professional. Disabled. Autistic. Grieving. Advocating.
One paediatrician shared they had encountered 1 genuine case of FII and 17 false accusations.
Another called this a “modern witch-hunt.”
Professionals who challenge the system are ostracised. Judges often defer to “expert” opinion. Families are left voiceless, traumatised, and trapped in systems that assume guilt from the outset.
- Why does this matter?
Because this could be you or your sister. It could be your colleague with a disabled child.
This is the Post Office scandal of safeguarding. Lives destroyed not by malice, but by systems that reward fear over facts.
If we do nothing, we allow a culture to grow that criminalises love, suspicion masquerading as safeguarding.
- What must change?
— National guidance based on evidence, not fear.
— Proper training on autism, rare illness and parent child attachment.
— Statutory regulation of FII referrals and legal redress for false accusations.
— End to the safeguarding culture that punishes parental knowledge, emotion, or pain.
— A public inquiry to expose how many families have been wronged.
— This isn’t just about law. It’s about what kind of society we are becoming.
— Cathie Long, one of the report’s contributors, sent me this message:
— “I continue to be in contact with numerous parents accused of FII…
— They need a voice, and they need to be heard and understood.”
— I say let that voice be amplified, louder than the silence that has hidden this scandal for too long.
Read. Share. Demand change.We owe it to every family who did nothing wrong except care too much. Is that too much to ask?
- Fighting for your child should never be a crime yet in this broken system it can cost you everything. We should all say "not on my watch!"
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Check out our latest YouTube short from Episode 6 of the Education Magazine.
In this segment, we pick up just after hearing Ellie's story, with Michael Charles inviting the panel of experts to give their thoughts on the area of FII.
