Rise in incidence of parental child abduction

There has been an alarming rise in the number of parental child abduction and custody cases over the past ten years, with around two children being abducted abroad each day.

The latest figures from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) and charity, Reunite show that in 2003/04 the FCO was involved in 272 new parental child abduction and international custody cases. This figure rose to 580 in 2012/13, the second highest figure ever recorded.

The FCO has launched a hard-hitting film, Caught in the middle, to highlight the issues and encourage parents to think of the consequences before doing something that could do lasting damage to the children and families involved.

Mark Simmonds, Minister for Consular Affairs, said:

“We are launching this awareness campaign in the lead up to Christmas to try to prevent parents from doing something that would cause significant distress to themselves, their family and most importantly to the child.

“We also encourage parents to look for warning signs that their partner may be considering this. Once children are taken overseas it can be extremely difficult to secure their return to the UK. Many parents are not aware that by abducting their child, they may be committing a crime.”

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