Parental child abduction refers to the case whereby an individual related to a child takes them away from the residence or country of residence without the permission of the parents or the courts. Most cases of parental abduction happen after divorce, and the action is taken by the parent who has not been granted the custody of the child. This case of kidnapping may be within the same town, country or in some cases; it may be international. Parental child abduction is becoming a common phenomenon today, and this is owed to the fact that there is a rise in cross-cultural marriages, change in the immigration laws and increased rates of divorce. Under the 1984 Child Abduction Act, it is a criminal offense if the child is taken out of the country for more than 28 days (U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs, 2016). According to the law, it is the parent behind who is a victim when the child is not returned before the custody ends when the child is 18 years old. If the child is abducted before they are 18 years old, then they can be forcefully returned to the victimized parent, but if the child is over 18 years, then they cannot be forced to return as long as they consent to the idea. It is important to understand that child abduction is not in any way related to the welfare or children’s right but rather with parental rights.
It is interesting how many people are not aware of the cases of parental child abduction because, to them, child abduction is only a problem committed by strangers. However, with the rise of international and inter-racial relationships, international child abductions are on the rise as well. The best way to explain and prevent parental child abductions is by understanding the following statistics. According to the FBI, roughly 85% of the 840,000 abductions that happen in the country where children, and this equates to approximately 2000 child abductions daily (McFarling Law, 2016). An interesting fact is that in the United States, there is a child that goes missing every 40 seconds and most of these are parental child abductions. 49% of the child abductions are committed by parents or close relatives; while acquaintances of the child commit 27% of the abductions (McFarling Law, 2016). Statistics reveal that most of the child abductions happen at home or areas close to home. 75% cases of the parental child abductions handled by the law are international thus making international relations the number one cause of parental child abduction (McFarling Law, 2016). In trying to understand the different perspectives towards parental child abductions, many people believe that the act is commonly associated with fathers, whereas according to data, it is always the mothers who are highly likely to abduct their children.
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Parental child abduction is an international phenomenon, and this calls for raising awareness. Being an international problem affecting two different countries, resolving the problem is often an issue and it might take ages to finally conclude, or the case may remain unsolved forever. One of the significant reasons hindering the success of these cases is the idea that not every country is a member of the 1980 Hague Convention. The 1980 Hague Convention is an agreement among several countries that ensure a child return upon any abduction by the family member (U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs, 2016). Recent definitions are currently considering parental child abduction as child abuse because certain times it affects the child’s well-being negatively.
References
McFarling Law. (2016, August 02). Family Child Abduction Statistics. Retrieved September 17, 2017, from https://www.mcfarlinglaw.com/family-child-abduction-statistics/
U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs. (2016). Annual Report on International Parental Child Abduction (IPCA) (Rep.). U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs. doi:https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/childabduction/complianceReports/2016.pdf
