DV & the Hague Abduction Convention: Safeguarding Survivors
On 12 September, FiLiA Hague Mothers, GlobalARRK, Sanctuary for Families, and Revibra Europa held a sell-out webinar which looked at the challenges facing mothers and their children who are caught up in the Hague Abduction Convention.
The stellar international line-up included legal and academic experts, frontline professionals, and survivors. Our keynote speaker UNSR Reem Alsalem spoke of the inequality of arms faced by victim-survivors in these cases, and the the ‘multi-layered violence that has yet to enter the collective conscience of the international community as a human rights issue’.
Panel 1 – Challenging Assumptions provided an overview of some of the key assumptions that enable the continued misuse of the Convention by perpetrators. Panel 2 – Seeking Safety, Seeking Justice highlighted the impossibility for protective mothers of both finding safety and staying within the law.
The event concluded with one mother’s testimony and this powerful statement from Hague mother Jewel Lazaro:
‘There has to be a better way than condemning mothers, tearing away their children, and marking them with the scarlet letter of child abduction. In case you’ve forgotten, I introduced myself at the beginning of my speech as Jewel Lazaro. I am also Narkis Golan, Michelle Monasky, Abril Dubbe, Svitlana Balac, Loana Noguera, and thousands more worldwide. We are Hagued mothers – mothers who fell victim to this broken law and we deserve restitution. Please help us obtain justice for our children.’
If you are able to, please donate to help ensure the voices of survivors and their advocates are heard at the upcoming Hague Forum in Brazil.
