Child abduction cases are on the rise
Cases of parental child abduction have risen by 88 per cent in just under a decade, according to new figures published by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).
Despite parental child abduction being against the law, a quarter of people do not think or remain unaware that it is a crime for a parent to take their child overseas without the consent of others who they share the parental responsibility with.
In the last year alone the Child Abduction Section fielded an average of four calls per day to its specialist advice line, more than half of which were new cases.
Daisy Organ, head of the Child Abduction Section at the FCO said: “The increase in parental child abduction cases is a major cause for concern, particularly in the lead up to the school holidays; we know that before or during school holidays is one of the most common times for a child to be abducted.
It is important to remember that parental child abduction is not faith or country specific... it can happen to anyone, from any background
“We hope that this campaign will help inform and educate the UK public and encourage parents thinking of abducting their child, to think twice before they cause significant distress to themselves and their family.”
As well as this emotional distress, both parents may often face severe financial difficulties as they fight for custody of their child through foreign courts.
The statistics show that people tend to underestimate just how much getting a child back costs, including legal fees overseas and in the UK which may continue to mount up even after the child is returned to this country.
Public understanding of parental child abduction is alarmingly low. Further research commissioned by the FCO shows that half the UK population believes the Government can intervene to order the return of a child to the UK if a parent has abducted him or her.
The reality is that whilst help is available, parental child abduction cases can take years to resolve with significant impact on those concerned and the strong possibility that the child may never be returned.
It is also much harder to return a child from a country that has not signed the 1980 Hague Convention, an international agreement between certain countries, which aims to ensure the return of a child who has been abducted by a parent.
When asked which parent they thought was more likely to abduct a child, three quarters of people thought it was fathers. Yet according to statistics from Reunite International Child Abduction Centre, 70 per cent of the charity’s cases concern mothers taking the child.
Alison Shalaby, Chief Executive of Reunite, said: “It is important to remember that parental child abduction is not faith or country specific.
“71 per cent of the UK public thought that parents most commonly abduct their children to the Middle East, India and Pakistan but it can happen to anyone, from any background. Countries where children are abducted to can range from Australia, to France, to Thailand.
“We have seen a 206 per cent increase in the number of children who have been abducted by a parent to a non-Hague country between 2001 and 2011.
“This issue is not going away and with a 88 per cent increase in the number of child abduction cases Reunite has worked on between 2001 and 2011, we are urging parents to think twice before they abduct their child or seek help if they think their child is at risk,” Alison advised.
If you are concerned or if your child has been abducted you can call the Child Abduction Section at the Foreign Office on 0207 008 0878 or visit www.fco.gov.uk/childabduction or Reunite on 0116 2556 234.
The Child Abduction Section is also working with the charity Families Need Fathers (FNF), to host a Q&A for parents who might have questions about this issue, on the FNF website. This will go live on Wednesday 12 December and all questions will be responded to on Wednesday 19 December. Visit http://www.fnf.org.uk/
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