ASSGINMENT

ON
Child Abduction
Submitted To:
Ma’am Saima Manzoor
Submitted By:
Muhammad Ameer Hamza
Roll No;
ECRF19E045
Program:
M.Sc. Criminology
Semester:
2nd
Outline:

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Background
4. Types of Child Abduction
i. Parental child abduction
ii. Abduction or kidnapping by strangers
iii. International child abduction
iv. Before birth abduction Global Missing Children's
Network
5. The Reality of Child Abductions
6. Ways to Prevent Abductions
i. Talking to Kids about Strangers
ii. If Your Child Is Abducted
7. Child abduction convention in Pakistan
8. Child Abduction legislation in Pakistan
9. Effects of Abduction on Children
10. conclusion
Abstract:

Child Abduction is defined as the taking and concealment of a child by a parent or

other family member, or agent in violation of the rights or without legal work. Child abduction
has become a global concern for governments, communities and families in countries of origin
and reception of children adopted internationally. This article summarizes research findings in
the zone of child abduction. Topics discussed include introduction to the child abduction (and its
types) prevention, legislation and operational definitions of child abduction (legal and social),
effects on the victim of child abduction (sex, profit, and desire to kill). Risk factors for child
abduction are mentioned in this report. Practical application of research findings are considered
including the development of more, effective child safety training programs and improved
investigative resource management and search methodologies to tackle this issue. Motivations to
child abduction as well as risk factors for abduction, are identified by the research. (Research on
the criminal justice systems) response to parental abductions is revised, including the law
enforcement agency response and difficulties to handle parental abduction cases, like
authenticating custody orders and clarifying law enforcement roles in jurisdictions. Overall, the
research on Child abductions shows that this type of crime can be shocking for both children and
parents who are left behind and that the longer the separation continues to become more
damaging experience.

Introduction:

Although, abductions by stranger receive more public attention. But, significant

number of child abductions are committed by family members or non-custodial parents
commonly called parental kidnapping or abduction. It is a common belief, a parental abduction
have a deeply traumatic effect on the child. They suffer the consequences of being displaced
from the home deprived of the other parent, and forced to spend a life on the route. Child
abductions are difficult and un-easy to deal. When they involve other countries, which is quite
often the case, they are even more so. There are a number of procedures, and steps that may be
considered when making necessities for the safety of children that are discussed below. Most
series of steps that should be taken when a child has been abducted. This is a confusing and often
lengthy experience. When it is suspected that a child may be abducted, or has already been so,
there is a proper way to handle the situation which will be discussed here through preparation
and prevention and also with research.

Background:

Many children who are abducted to other countries by parents are never returned to
the homeland. A parent who is left behind when a child is abducted to another country faces
overwhelming obstacles to finding and recovering the child. first, the left-behind parent does not
know who can or will help them. The parent’s emotional and economic resources are limited.
When years pass without the return of the child, the parent is left with unsolved grief. It is said bt
a parent that, “It’s worse than if your child died because you cannot say the child is at peace
now”. You live every day worried that is your child fine are not, if he/she is abused or ignored.
You never understand that what is happend. Frequently, the parents whose children are returned
do not want to let their children out of their sight in fear of it could happen again. Parents who
abduct their children to other country are same as parents who abduct their children to other
States. They usually have support from family or other individuals for what they are doing. They
commonly do not value the other parent’s relationship with the child. Some are convinced, that
their actions are justified because they trust they rescued their child from the hands of an abusive
parent.

Definition:

Unauthorized exclusion of a minor (a child under the age of 18) from the custody of the
child's lawful parents or legally allotted guardians is known as Child abduction.

Types of Child Abduction:

Most of the child are abduction by;

• Members of the child's family

• Abduction by strangers
1. Parental child abduction:

Unlawful custody of a child by a family relative without parental

agreement and opposing to family law ruling. Care and contact of the other parent and family
side are may be prohhibited. Due to the parental separation, or divorce, it kind of parental child
abduction may include parental alienation, to disconnect a child from targeted parent. This is the
most common exemple of child abduction.

2. Abduction or kidnapping by strangers:

It is the abduction by the unknown and other than

family member. it is rare. Because of blackmail to provoke a ransom from the parents for the
child's return, illegal adoption, a stranger kiddnap a child with intention to rear the child as their
own or to sell.

 Child trafficking; steal a child with the goal to abuse child or through sell to someone
who may abuse the child through slavery, labor by force, or rape.

Parental child abduction:

it is most common in ( 2010 alone). It often happens when the

parents separate or take divorce . A parent may retain the child from the other looking for to gain
an benefit in estimated or pending child custody proceedings or because that parent fears losing
the child. A parent may refuse to return a child at the end of an access due to fear of domestic
violence and abuse.

 Parental child abductions may consequence in the child be kept within the same city,
within the same country.
 Most parental abductions are resolved quickly. (U.S. Department of Justice's Office of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention) reported that in 1999, 53% percent of
family abducted children were gone less than one week, and 21% were gone one month
or more.
  Parental abduction has been considered as child abuse, when seen from the angle of the
kidnapped child.
1. International child abduction:

When a parent, relative or stranger of a child leaves the country

with the child or children in violation of a custody ruling. Another related situation is retention
where children are taken on an so-called vacation to a foreign country and are not returned.
While the number of cases which is over (600,000”) a year consists of international child
abduction is small in contrast to domestic cases, that are most difficult to resolve due to the
participation of incompatible international jurisdictions. Two,thirds of international parental
abduction cases involve mothers who declare domestic violence. Even when there is a treaty
agreement for the return of a child, the court may be unenthusiastic to return the child if the
return could result in the eternal departure of the child from their primary guardian. This could
occur if the abducting parent faced criminal prosecution or deportation by returning to the child's
home country.

The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is an international
human rights treaty and legal tool to recover children abducted to another country. The Hague
Convention does not provide relief in many cases, resulting in some parents hiring private parties
to recover their children. Covert recovery was first made public when Don Feeney, a former
Delta Commando, responded to a desperate mother's plea to locate and recover her daughter
from Jordan in the 1980s. Feeney successfully located and returned the child. A movie and book
about Feeney's exploits lead to other desperate parents seeking him out for recovery services.

United States and European authorities, and NGO's had begun serious interest in the use of
conciliation as a means by which some international child abduction cases may be resolved. The
primary focus was on Hague Cases. Development of mediation in Hague cases, suitable for such
an approach, had been tested and reported REUNITE a London Based NGO which provides
support in international child abduction cases, as successful. Their reported success lead to the
first international exercise for cross-border mediation in 2008, supported by NCMEC.[7] Held at
the University of Miami School of Law, Lawyers, Judges, and certified mediators interested in
international child abduction cases, attended.
International child abduction is not new. A case of international child abduction has been
documented aboard the Titanic. However, the incidence of international child abduction
continues to increase due to the ease of international travel, increase in bi-cultural marriages and
a high divorce rate.

The conventional version of kidnapping by a stranger is the classic form of "kidnapping,"

exemplified by the Lindbergh kidnapping, in which the child is imprisoned, transported to some
distance, held for ransom or with intent to keep the child permanently. These examples are rare.

In 1597, Elizabeth I of England approved the abduction of children for use as sanctuary singers
and theatre performers. That abduction of children are reported to be used or sold as slaves is
common in parts of Africa

The Lord's Resistance Army, a rebellious fighter group operating mostly in Uganda, is defamed
for its abductions of children for use as child soldiers or sex slaves. According to the Sudan
Tribune, as of 2005, more than 30,000 children have been kidnapped by the LRA and their
leader.

A small number of abductions result from in women who kidnap babies to bring up as their
own. These women are often unable to have children of their own, or have miscarried, and seek
to satisfy their unmet psychological need by abducting a child rather than by adopting. The crime
is often planned, with the woman often pretending pregnancy to reduce suspicion when a baby
suddenly appears in the family.

In the past, a few states have practiced child abduction for training, as a form of punishment for
political opponents, or for profit. Famous cases include the kidnapping of children by Nazi
Germany (400,000) children kidnapped for possible Germanization) the lost children of
Francoism, during which an estimated (300,000) children were abducted from their parents.and
(500) "Children of the Disappeared who were adopted by the military in the Argentine Dirty
War.

Some other abductions have been to make children accessible by child selling for adoption by
other people without adopting parents essentially being aware of how children were actually
made available for adoption.
 2. Before birth abduction:

Newborn child abduction and prenatal fetal abduction are the old kind of
child abduction, when child is generously defined as a viable baby before birth (usually a few
months before the usual time for birth) through the age of majority (the age at which a young is
legally accepted as an adult). In addition, embryo theft and even oocyte misuse in reproductive
medical settings have been legalistically interpreted as child abduction.

3. Global Missing Children's Network:

International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children, (ICMEC) and

(NCMEC), the Global Missing Children's Network (GMCN) Launched in 1998 as a joint scheme
that is a network of countries that connect, share best practices, and broadcast information and
images of missing children to improve the efficiency of missing children investigations. The
Network has 22 member countries.

Each country can access a website platform, and can enter missing children information into a
central, multilingual database that has photos of and information about missing children, which
can be observed and distributed to assist in location and recovery efforts. GMCN, staff train new
countries linking the Network, and provide an annual member conference at which best
practices, issues, trends, policies, procedures, and possible solutions are discussed.

Some laws, such as the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, attempt to prevent
stranger abductions by making it possible for people to learn where people previously convicted
of sexual crimes are living

1. The Reality of Child Abductions:

Some realities of child abduction are given below:

 Kids, who are reported lost have escaped or there has been a misinterpretation with their
parents about where they were supposed to be.
 Kids, and teens who are truly abducted, most are taken by a family member; only 25% of
kids are taken by strangers.
  Almost all kids kidnapped by strangers are taken by men, and 2/3 stranger abductions
involve female children.
 Most abducted kids are in their teenage.
 Commonly Kids are abducted from school grounds.

2. There are many ways to Prevent Abductions:

In the U.S About 2,100 missing children reported each day.

Many cases can be solved more easily when parents can provide key physical
information about their kids, like: height, weight, eye color, and a clear recent photo.

 Make sure custody papers are in order.

 It should have ID resembling photos taken of your kids every six-months and
fingerprinted to many local police departments so they can help you in difficult situation.
 Make sure online safety .Internet is unlimited tool, but there are some predators who stalk
kids. Be-aware of your kids Internet activities and retell them never to give personal
information. Do not post identifying information or photos of your kids on social media.
 Set limitations where your kids go. Supervise them in public places like malls, movie
theaters, parks etc.
 Never leave kids alone in a vehicle.
 Choose caregivers childcare provider carefully and check their background. If you have
arranged for someone to pick and drop to your children discuss the arrangements before
with your kids and with the school or childcare center.
3. Talking to Kids about Strangers:

Being a parent is teaching your kids to be vigilant without putting them into fear or anxiety is a
challenge. Talk to your kids about safety, to prevent them how to avoid and escape potentially
from dangerous situations.

Teach your children to:

 Never accept eatables or gifts from a stranger.

  Do not go anywhere with a stranger, Predators change the mind of kids with questions
and things.
 Run away and shout if someone try to follow them or tries to force them into a car.
 Say no if someone touch them in a way that makes them feel uneasy.
 Always tell trusted adult, to expose if a stranger asks personal questions himself or
herself.
 Always ask permission from a parent if leave the house, mall or playground.

It should be kept in mind:

 It is important for young kids to know their names, address, and phone number. Tell what
to do if they get lost in a public place most places have emergency procedures for
handling lost kids.
 The homes of friends and the neighborhood where your kids can go in case of trouble.
 Be sure your kids know whose cars they may ride in and who’s they may not. Teach them
to move away from any car that pulls up beside them and is driven by a stranger. Develop
code words for caregivers other than mom or dad, and remind your kids never to tell
anyone the code word. Teach them do not to ride with any stranger.
 If your kids can stay home alone, Say them to keep the door locked and never tell any
stranger who knocks or call that, are alone.

If Your Child Is Abducted:

 Most critical condition is time when the child is missing. So first step in must to contact
your local police and give them information about your child exact that time.
 Local police will ask you for a recent picture of your child and his/her apparent condition
like what your child was wearing, and details about when and where you last saw your
child.
 You should ask to register your child's case into the (National Crime and Information
Center) (NCIC). Other clearing-houses such as the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children.
 After reporting to the authorities, stay calm. To help you able to remember details about
your child's loss more easily if you do.
(Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD)

1. Child abduction convention in Pakistan:

Pakistan is defamed for child abduction. The UK has a large and

energetic British-Pakistani community of more than 1 million people making it the largest
Pakistani population in Europe. (On 22 December 2016), Pakistan deposited its implement of
accession to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction 1980.
This made Pakistan the 96th Contracting State to the Convention which entered into force for
Pakistan on 1 March 2017. Pakistan became the 1st, South Asian and the fourth Muslim country
to align itself with the principles of the Convention and (on 25 September 2017) the Ministry of
Law and Justice took action to ensure that the family courts are in a position to entertain
international child abduction cases regarding custody, orders passed by foreign courts and
judgments from Contracting States of the Hague Convention. Earlier to these developments,
judges in the UK and Pakistan had agreed on the UK-Pakistan Protocol on Children Matters
2003. The Protocol reflects a judicial understanding irritating to secure the return of an abducted
child to the country of their expected residence.

The Hague Convention provides; a structure to support contracting states, by providing a

various civil, non-criminal, legal formalities and procedures for the protection and safe return of
abducted children when removed from Convention countries. Pakistan’s accession is accepted by
the Contracting States once, the Convention will enter into force between Pakistan and existing
Contracting States.

The process of recovering abducted and wrongfully retained children from Pakistan is lengthy
and irritating but the judgments of the superior courts show that the Pakistani judiciary does have
a tendency to give custody of the child to the non-Muslim mother with foreign custody rights
even when the abducting father resorts to hiding behind Islam to shield his actions.

International Hague Network of Judges (IHNJ) is designated in Pakistan a judge (2013) to the
specialized in child and family law matters; Mr Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, former Chief
Justice, Supreme Court of Pakistan. His judgments is given name Human Rights Case No 23150-
G of (2010) in the Supreme Court of Pakistan (exercising its Original Jurisdiction) is a powerful
reminder regarding the main role of mediation in testing cases between spouses in the UK-
Pakistan setting. The father taken the two children in Pakistan after a visit there. Two attempts at
settlement between the partner failed and the mother gave birth to a third child in Pakistan after
which she returned to the UK and took legal action in Pakistan. An agreement as to
communication between mother and the children in the UK and Pakistan was made by approval.

Pakistan also played an active role in the recent (May 2016) Fourth Malta Conference on cross-
frontier child protection and family law (“Malta IV”) within the Malta Process. The Malta IV
meeting recognized that the Child Abduction Convention 1980, the Child Protection Convention
1996 and the Child Support Convention 2007 support a number of key principles conveyed in
the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989, all in the best welfares of
children. The experts noted that these Hague Children’s Conventions are designed to be global in
reach and to be well-suited with various legal traditions.

The whole object of the Convention is to secure the instant return of children wrongfully
removed from their home country, not only so that they can return to the place which is
appropriately their “home”, but also so that any quarrel about where they should live in the
future can be decided in the courts of their home country, according to the laws of their home
country and in accordance with the evidence which will mostly be there rather than in the
country to which they have been removed.

2. Child Abduction legislation in Pakistan:

Child abduction in Pakistan under the provisions from the Pakistan

Penal Code: 1860 the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 and the Guardian and Wards Act 1890
(Revised). The Hague Convention, under article 2, needs contracting states to make all useful
efforts to implement the Convention in their domestic legal system. According to subsection 3 of
section 5 of the West Pakistan Family Courts Act 1964 has been modified by virtue of SRO No
980 (1) 2017 to include in its schedule Part 1 No – 6A “Matter pertaining to return of the child
under the Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, 1980” so as to
rearrange international standards into Pakistan’s domestic law. The correction automatically
extends the jurisdiction of all family courts in Pakistan dealing cases under section, 25 of the
Guardian and Wards Act 1890, to divert problems relating to international child abduction
disputes regarding custody, orders passed by foreign courts and judgments from contracting
states of the Hague Convention.

Ministry of Law and Justice in Pakistan; is the designated Central Authority under article 6 of the
Convention. At last Pakistan is ready to interact strongly on children’s issues with all of the
world. All this is very cooperative to the millions of foreign Pakistanis and the entrance of the
Convention into force in domestic Pakistani law is a very positive sign. It is new beginning in
international legal cooperation in history of Pakistan. Having worked more than a decade, in
worse environment in Pakistan’s family courts. It is the accurate time to raise the Hague
Convention, in first case courts or in the superior courts in their original jurisdiction even with
the fact that the exact mechanics of the full operation of Convention are still being settled in
Pakistan. Things are all the more exciting in the field because of the Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court of Pakistan, Mr. Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, is the one judge who decided Misbah Rana’s
case (in Lahore) High Court. It is maybe the case that his Lordship be strong to indulge in
convention matters.

3. Effects of Abduction on Children:

Existing research on the distress suffered by children who have

experienced abduction clearly shows that a long period of separation from the left behind parent
is particularly damaging. “Agopian’s study” (1984) found that the length of separation from the
left behind parent greatly influenced the emotional impact of the abduction experience on the
abducted child. Generally, children held for shorter periods (less than a few weeks) did not give
up the hope of being reunited with the other parent and consequently did not develop an intense
loyalty to the abducting parent. In some ways, they were able to view the experience as a type of
“adventure.”

Victims of long-term abductions, yet, fared much inferior. They were often deceived by the
abducting parent and moved frequently to avoid being located. This nomadic, unstable lifestyle
made it difficult for the children to make friends and settle into school (if they attended school at
all). Over time, younger children could not easily remember the left-behind parent, and this had
serious repercussions when they were reunited. Older children felt angry and confused by the
behavior of both parents—the abductors for keeping them away and the left behind parents for
failing to rescue them.

Terr’s study (1983) reported on a model of (18) children who received psychiatric evaluations
after being recovered from abduction (or after being threatened with abduction and/or
experiencing a failed abduction attempt). Nearly all (16) of the children suffered emotionally
from the experience. Their symptoms included grief and anger toward the left-behind parent in
addition to suffering caused by “mental brainwashing” perpetrated by the abducting parent.
Similarly, a study of a sample of 104 parental abductions drawn from (National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children) cases exposed that, as a result of the abduction, more than 50%
of the recovered children experienced symptoms of emotional distress, including anxiety, eating
problems, and nightmares. (Hatcher, Barton, and Brooks, 1992)

Gladstone, and Nurcombe (1982) reported that children who are recovered often suffered from
uncontrollable crying and mood swings, loss of bladder/ bowel control, eating and sleep
disturbances, aggressive behavior, and fearfulness. Other research shows that abduction trauma
such as unable to trust other people, withdrawal, poor peer relations, regression, thumb sucking,
and clinging behavior (Schetky and Haller, 1983) distrust of authorities and relatives and fear of
personal attachments (Agopian, 1984) and nightmares, anger and resentment, guilt, and
relationship problems in adulthood (Noble and Palmer, 1984).

The victims of international abduction may suffer effects other than those mentioned above. This
would especially, there are chances if they are required to adapt to different norms and values
and even learn a different language due to living in different culture.

4. Conclusion:

Even, this study is the comprehensive analysis of international parental abduction

of children, the results are primarily qualitative and descriptive and should therefore be
understood with attention. It is also significant to note that the findings are based on the
perceptions of victims (the left-behind parents) in these cases. Neither the unproven abductors
nor the abducted children were surveyed for their perspective on the issue. Additionally, so some
of the understandings of parents may be different today. Despite these boundaries, however, the
findings of this study provide legislators and consultants with a greater understanding of the
difficulties faced by parents in these cases and the strategies that publics can use to prevent these
abductions and to assist in the recovery of abducted children. Most importantly, the findings of
this study deliver OJJDP and other agencies with guidelines to use in emerging resources and
programs for all who must deal with these overwhelming cases children, left-behind parents, law
enforcement, prosecutors, and court.
References
Barton, H. (1992). Brooks.

by Asad Ali Khan, BA, MSc,, LL.B (Hons), LL.M . (n.d.).

http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=190074. (n.d.).

Patriot, B. ((June 26, 1819)).

Reunite. (2007). NGo.

Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD. (n.d.).

U.S. Department of State. 1997. International Parental Child Abduction, 11th ed. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Office of Children’s Issues. (n.d.).

Wayne D.lord, S. E. (n.d.). Child abduction . Federal Bureau of investigation.