What exactly is parental abduction? It is when a parent hides, takes or keeps hold of a child from the other parent. This can happen internationally - for example a parent kidnapping a child from Canada to Egypt - or it can happen within a country’s border – for example taking a child from New York to Florida without telling the other parent.

International parental abduction gets the most attention from media. In reality, it happens a lot within a country’s borders and by parents of the same nationality. In the United States, the Department of Justice estimates that almost a quarter of a million children are abducted by a family member each year. In Japan, one child is abducted by a parent every 2.5 minutes.

Parental abduction is illegal in some countries and legal in others, but it is always harmful to children and families.

When a child is abducted by a parent or family member, that child suffers from depression, anger, low self-esteem, trust issues, sometimes poor school performance and health problems, and fear. These effects often stay with a child for the rest of his or her life.

Children lose access to half of their family – grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins. They lose half of their identity, culture and sometimes no longer speak the same language of their second parent.

You can read more about the harm parental abduction does to children in this academic study.


If you have been abducted by a parent or your child has been abducted, here are some steps you can take to get support and reunite with your parent/child.