Most international abductors are moms

Robert Franklin writes about a Time magazine article:

The Hague Convention was originally drawn up to address the problem of parents absconding with children across international borders. That was in 1980. Few would argue that it does a terribly good job of returning children promptly to their countries of residence. As but one example, the Convention states as its goal the return of kidnapped children within six weeks of the filing of a complaint. Tell that to Ronald Goldman, the New Jersey man who fought the Brazilian courts for five years with the help of the United States Department of State before finally getting back his son Sean.

Still, the Convention is what we have, but back in 2006, a British law professor looked at cases brought under the Convention and learned that 68% of abducting parents were mothers. That leads Time to ask,

So what happens, three decades later, when research indicates that 68% of the abducting parents in cases under this treaty are mothers — and that many of them are fleeing abusive spouses?

The magazine article proposes changing the law to make it easier for moms to kidnap their kids and flee to another country.