Mothers’ Stories
The stories of mothers – and children – who have been victims of domestic abuse, and of the Hague.
Thank you for your courage.
Mothers' voices. mothers' lives.
This booklet is dedicated to loving mothers across the world whose lives have been decimated by the Hague Abduction Convention.
Mothers' Voices video
Mothers’ testimonies presented at the 2024 Hague DV Forum in South Africa. Heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed.
Anita’s Story – part 1. Over eight years of loss
This account is by Anita Gera. In 2013 – 2014 I lived in my home country of the UK for eleven and a half months, essentially as a single mother with my two children. We had moved back with their African-American father’s permission. He was a commercial pilot so provided our tickets, encouraged me to rent a house and put our children in school. He even visited us several times. My children settled well into life in the UK, seeing family several times a week, joining the local cricket team, tae kwon do classes and drama club. Both children were […]
Anita’s story – part 2. The aftermath: a black hole
What happens when the parent a child is returned to, and forced to live with, dies? This is what has happened so far in my case. My ex-husband, father of my two children, died suddenly, early in 2024. He had refused to allow me to see our children for almost 9 years, insisting that I could only visit them in the USA while knowing that I could not afford to do this (our story is detailed in this post I wrote last year). I flew to the USA as soon as I could, knowing that my children were alone, wanting […]
A Japanese mother’s tragedy
Report by Krisztina Les, Patent Association. A burned female body was found on 29th of January in an apartment in Budapest. The victim, a Japanese woman who had been living in Budapest for years and raising her two young children alone, sought legal assistance from PATENT Association, a Hungarian women’s right organisation, in 2023. She was terrified of her ex-husband, who had abused her for a long time, and wanted to return to her home country, Japan, with her children. However, the father did not consent to this, despite not residing in Hungary himself. So, she was stuck in Hungary. […]
Constanza’s Story. Forced to return her children to an abusive father
Read Constanza’s story, as told to HM member Louise Godbold.
Shelley’s story. Trapped & Controlled – post-Hague reality
Even before my estranged husband invoked the Hague Convention, this country, in very real sense, became my prison. Travel to see my family in Wales was deemed ‘too costly’, or ‘not convenient’ and so I only returned a few times within the seven years of being here. This was made more difficult as I became a stay-at-home parent to look after my autistic daughter. Since being brought back here via the Hague Convention, it has become even more difficult to see family, or indeed to travel anywhere. Abusers isolate, and the constant heartache of being away from family and friends […]
Sammie & Lydia’s Stories. Breaking Silence Season 3 Episode 4: The Hague Convention
A powerful documentary featuring Sammie and Lydia, co-founders of the New Zealand Hague Collective which helps other protective mothers navigate this terrifying international law. Their experiences were traumatic; their situations desperate. And yet the Hague Convention sent them back to their abusers. Their courage in sharing their stories, and their generosity in deciding to use their experience to help others, is beyond inspirational. We are proud to know them. https://www.haguecollective.co.nz
