Insight (1995)
Parental Abductions
TV-G
2012 • E11 Apr 30, 2012 60mAustralia has the highest rate per capita of international parental child abductions in the world.
With the rise in inter-country marriages, some experts believe there is an increased need to protect children caught between feuding parents after a relationship breakdown.
There are some existing protections: Australia is a party to the 'Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction’ which mediates international custody disputes. Under these agreements, if a parent unlawfully takes a child overseas they can be ordered back to the country of residence so the local courts can figure out what to do.
But if a child is taken to a country that isn’t a signatory to the convention (including Japan, Lebanon and China), it’s extraordinarily difficult for the other parent to get them back. And even if the country is a signatory, it’s not always possible to locate the child and the abducting parent.
In some cases, desperate parents bypass authorities and hire a 'retriever’ – similar to a private investigator – to help find their missing child.
Insight asks why this happening, what is being done to protect these children, and whether tightening the laws would have any effect.
With the rise in inter-country marriages, some experts believe there is an increased need to protect children caught between feuding parents after a relationship breakdown.
There are some existing protections: Australia is a party to the 'Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction’ which mediates international custody disputes. Under these agreements, if a parent unlawfully takes a child overseas they can be ordered back to the country of residence so the local courts can figure out what to do.
But if a child is taken to a country that isn’t a signatory to the convention (including Japan, Lebanon and China), it’s extraordinarily difficult for the other parent to get them back. And even if the country is a signatory, it’s not always possible to locate the child and the abducting parent.
In some cases, desperate parents bypass authorities and hire a 'retriever’ – similar to a private investigator – to help find their missing child.
Insight asks why this happening, what is being done to protect these children, and whether tightening the laws would have any effect.