Battered Women, Their Children, and International Law: The Unintended Consequences of the Hague Child Abduction Convention

Ending a bad personal relationship is extremely complicated when the relationship is transnational. Women whose partners are abusive often turn to family members for assistance. When this means leaving one nation for another with one’s children, Hague Convention (1980) international treaties come into play. All too often, the mother is charged with child abduction and forced to return the children to an abusive father. Drawing on a series of true-life stories, the authors reveal important dimensions of domestic law, interpretations of children’s best interests, and the legal rationales required to ensure safety for battered women and their children across international boundaries.