Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII), historically referred to as “Munchausen’s syndrome by proxy,” is a term applied to a broad spectrum of behaviours in which a parent or carer exaggerates, fabricates, or induces symptoms in a child. This can range from overstating a child’s symptoms to deliberately causing harm to create the impression of illness, often involving repeated visits to healthcare providers to validate these claims. Although the intention of the parent or carer may not always be to deceive, the consequences for the child can be serious, leading to unnecessary medical treatments, invasive tests, or prolonged educational interruptions.

Originally identified in England, FII describes situations where a caregiver’s behaviour—conscious or otherwise—convinces medical professionals of the child’s illness severity. When involved in these cases, family courts have increasingly encountered FII as a complicating factor. Unfortunately, it appears that some local authorities may be presenting FII as a form of non-alleged abuse in family court by introducing this through one party in the hearing, particularly in fact-finding hearings. This may occur even when there is no clear medical consensus or diagnosis, allowing ambiguous FII allegations to obscure the true causes of physical injuries, such as bruises, and categorizing them instead as medical matters.

It seems this FII is now happening in family courtrooms under fact finding when Social Workers using division hope to introduce this non-factual information into court through a party on the papers.