Hello everyone,
I hope you are all well. Today, I would like to bring your attention to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Known more commonly as the ‘Hague Convention’. I mentioned this in my introduction page, where I shared my story on my own personal experience of GBV, horrific injustice and eventual exile from my native home country of Australia. I felt this was worthy topic on its own to discuss in today’s post.
In summary, the Hague Convention is a multinational treaty that was established by the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) on 25 October 1980 and entered into force between all signatories on 1 December 1983. Its aim was to address and prevent international child abduction and child trafficking by providing a civil, expeditious method to return a child who was wrongfully removed from their country of habitual residence and / or retained across international borders in a country that is not their country of habitual residence. In order for the Hague Convention to apply, both countries (the one the child was removed from, and the one the child has been brought to) must be Contracting States; i.e. both must be signatories and adoptees of the Hague Convention.
For a full, detailed outline of the Hague Convention, go to:
https://assets.hcch.net/docs/e6a6a977-40c5-47b2-a380-b4ec3a0041a8.pdf
For a comprehensive list of Hague Convention countries, go to: https://www.ag.gov.au/families-and-marriage/families/international-family-law-and-children/hague-convention-civil-aspects-international-child-abduction#:~:text=The%201980%20Hague%20Convention%20on,children%20to%20their%20home%20country.
For a detailed list of all 45 Articles of the Hague Convention, go to: https://assets.hcch.net/docs/e86d9f72-dc8d-46f3-b3bf-e102911c8532.pdf
It is only in recent years that attention has been brought to light that the legislators of the Hague Convention did not factor in domestic violence / GBV (gender-based violence) as an exemption to this treaty. As a result, perpetrators and unethical / corrupt legal practitioners have been weaponizing the Hague Convention to reunite victims (and their children) with their perpetrators, thereby endangering (and, in many cases, ending) the lives of the parent-survivors / escapees and that of their children [I will discuss this more in my next blog].
For many years, I have lived in fear because of the horrific acts of violence and torture that were perpetrated upon me by my child’s biological father. I turned to law enforcement and the justice system to protect us but both let us down devastatingly. Not only did they let us down, but we experienced corruption, injustice, toxic patriarchy, negligence, indifference as well as a chronic lack of knowledge and empathy by professionals around the topic of GBV and domestic violence. As a result, we were forced to leave our home country for our safety. Just when we thought we were finally safe from the perpetrator (and a corrupt system), we were then faced with injustice on a global scale: The Hague Convention. We had to settle in a non-Hague country and, till this day, this injustice plagues us.
Throughout our globe-trotting journey, I was fortunate to meet many other single parent survivors of domestic violence / GBV with circumstances very similar to mine. They, too, had faced unspeakable forms of torture and violence and were abandoned and betrayed by the legal systems in their countries of residences, and forced into exile into non-Hague countries, like myself. As a result, I knew I had to do something about this. I unified all these victims and decided to start LIFT to support them as well as reach out to the countless other victims scattered around the world and speak out against this atrocity, which I term “legal injustice”.
Through my research, I would like share several links with you. These are media and academic articles written about the weaponization of the Hague Convention and how this harms domestic violence survivors, women, children and families.
- Mothers forced to stay in same country as abuser or risk persecution under the Hague Convention:
By journalist Sarah Thomas, ABC Sydney newsroom. Posted Fri 23 Oct 2020 at 4:34pm, updated Tue 27 Oct 2020 at 12:26am.
2. Being ‘Hagued’: How Weaponising the Hague Convention Harms Women
Being ‘Hagued’: How Weaponising the Hague Convention Harms Women
By the Hague Mothers Project, June 13, 2022 (excerpt).
The full research paper can be found here:
Centre for Justice Briefing Paper (QUT – Queensland University of Technology), May 2022 / Issue No 25.
By: Gina Masterton (QUT Centre for Justice), Zoe Rathus (Griffith University Law School), John Flood (Griffith University School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science), and Kieran Tranter (QUT School of Law).
3. Women’s rights and child abductions under the Hague Convention
https://doi.org/10.1002/aps.1832
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15569187
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/15569187/2023/20/3
International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, first published: 13 September 2023
By: Valentina Shaknes, Justine Stringer and Stephanie Brandt
Interestingly, I found these 2 articles written by healthcare and legal professionals targeting trial judges who adjudicate cases pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (Hague Convention), and their legal counterparts. I felt it was relevant, given these professionals highlighted and emphasized the impact of GBV on the victims for the benefit of legal practitioners, who are too often blind or indifferent to the suffering and experiences of victims.
- Battered Mothers Seeking Safety Across International Borders: Examining Hague Convention Cases involving Allegations of Domestic Violence
https://assets.hcch.net/docs/7624595a-b207-464b-b95d-8222e9ce8d56.pdf
Published in: The Judges’ Newsletter
By: Jeffrey EDLESON, Professor, University of Minnesota School of Social Work, USA.
Taryn LINDHORST Associate Professor, University of Washington School of Social Work, USA.
2. You Can and You Should: How Judges Can Apply the Hague Abduction Convention to Protect Victims of Domestic Violence
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0kp5s7s0
UCLA Journal of Gender and Law, 28(1), 2021
By: Merle Weiner
I have reached out to many professionals and advocates who see this weaponization of the Hague Convention through the same lens as the women I represent and myself, and I hope that, together, we will be able to stand together to take down this injustice on a global scale.
Thank you 
Dr C