'Parental child abduction is a crime – not a remedy for domestic abuse'

Bring Our Kids Home, a child rights organisation in the US, is seeking the return of abducted American children who have been wrongfully retained in India and advocating for a systemic solution between the US and India.

The sensitive and growing problem of international parental child abductions – when a parent takes the child away from their home country without the knowledge of the other parent, is touched upon by a recent report on Scroll.in, titled “Why domestic abuse victims are opposed to India's new bill on international child abduction".

However, the characterisation of international parental child abductions in this story raises serious concerns. Most importantly, the story does not shed light on the significant consequences on victimised children, especially when they are wrongfully separated for an extended period of time, which is the norm in such abductions.

What your anonymous case studies also fail to talk about is that the longer these cases drag out, the more likely an Indian court is grant custody of the child to the parent who has abducted them and thereby prevent the child’s return.

Abuse not the only reason

A less informed reader would walk away with the impression that most mothers who abduct their children and bring them to India are fleeing abuse. This is not always the case.

According to the Canadian Center for Child Protection Inc, a parent may also abduct a child as he or she is disgruntled by court process or frustrated with custody arrangements. It may be the result of a contentious divorce or break-up, an effort to exert control over a former spouse or partner, or a way to deprive the other parent of access to the child.

Often, it is a combination of factors. Whatever the reasons, parental child abduction sets in motion a series of events that can forever change the lives of the abducted child, the parents as well as extended family and friends.

Victims of domestic abuse have the right to seek legal remedies, but they are not entitled to take the law in their own hands.

Parental child abduction is a violation of law in 94 countries, including the US – it not a remedy for alleged domestic abuse. According to the US Department of Justice, more than 50% of abducted children are under the age of eight. At-risk children have no means to know or prevent their abduction, which highlights the brutality of such acts.

The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and the draft bill by India’s Women and Child Development Ministry are thus designed to protect children.