Nowhere in the world to run: The international law ripping children from their mothers : Olivia Gentile / The 19th

Shared by Lou Mendez

Thought this piece would make us all angry….
Lou

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Summary
This investigative piece examines how the Hague Abduction Convention—originally intended to reunite children with their custodial parents—has increasingly been used by allegedly abusive fathers to legally reclaim children from mothers who fled abusive situations.

Centered on the harrowing case of Jewel Lazaro, an American flight attendant who escaped her abusive partner in Spain only to be sued under the treaty and forced to return her child, the article highlights systemic flaws:

* in 2021, fathers filed about 73% of U.S. Hague petitions, and judicial "grave‑risk" defenses rarely succeed—even when abuse is documented 19thnews.org. 

* review of 114 recent U.S. cases reflects that 77% were father‑filed, with nearly 80% including abuse allegations; 

* yet only about 17% of mothers successfully invoked the grave‑risk exception. 

Despite mounting advocacy—including petitions and forums—the treaty remains largely unchanged, and mothers continue to suffer legal, emotional, and psychological fallout.

Quotes

“The Hague Abduction Convention was meant to reunite mothers and children. Instead, it's often used by allegedly abusive fathers to tear them apart.” 19thnews.org+219thnews.org+219thnews.org+2

“Out of 114 published cases, 77 percent were filed by fathers against mothers, at least 79 percent of whom accused the petitioning father of spousal abuse, child abuse or both.” 19thnews.org+219thnews.org+219thnews.org+2

“In many cases, judges said the exception didn’t apply because the alleged abuse mainly targeted the mother, whose safety isn’t addressed in the treaty.” 19thnews.org