# UK mothers fleeing abuse get hope on child abduction law > The government will examine how domestic abuse features in Hague convention cases, potentially giving mothers who escape violence greater legal protection. - Title: UK mothers fleeing abuse get hope on child abduction law - Summary: The government will examine how domestic abuse features in Hague convention cases, potentially giving mothers who escape violence greater legal protection… - Keywords: domestic abuse, child abduction, hague convention, family law, uk government, mothers, international law, legal protection, news, world, fleeing, abuse - Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/society/2026/sep/22/uk-mothers-domestic-abuse-child-abduction - Published: 2026-09-22T04:00:36+00:00 - Read time: 2 min - Topics: domestic abuse, child abduction, hague convention, family law, uk government, mothers, international law, legal protection, news, world ## Mother escapes US abuse with children Claire fled an abusive partner in the US with her two small children and returned to the UK. Within a day of applying for benefits, police arrived with a summons under the Hague convention. > We were all terrified of him. I was in near-constant fear for my life. ## Nine days to fight child abduction case Claire was given nine days' notice to appear in court. She used all her savings to hire a barrister and only won because her oldest child, nearly fourteen, was allowed to give evidence. > I barely stood any chance even with legal representation, all my evidence of the domestic abuse was ignored. ## Hundreds of cases filed each year Approximately five hundred Hague convention applications for the return of a child are filed each year in England and Wales. Between ten percent and twenty percent of children affected end up separated from their primary carer. ## Government to examine domestic abuse cases The Ministry of Justice's private international family law team will analyse all high court cases in London between two thousand twenty-four and two thousand twenty-five under the nineteen eighty Hague convention. ## Convention based on four-decade-old assumptions The Hague convention, introduced in nineteen eighty, requires signatory countries to return children removed abroad within six weeks. Campaigners hope the analysis will challenge assumptions that all child abduction is harmful. ## Circumstances have changed since nineteen eighty Ruth Dineen, international coordinator of the Filia Hague Mothers campaign, said more relationships now span different nationalities and there is greater understanding of domestic abuse and coercive control. > There are far more relationships between parents of different nationalities, so it's much more common for families to live abroad. ## Victims lack equal legal support Roz Osborne, head of the charity Globalarrk, said victims do not have access to equal legal support due to legal aid inequalities. Victims who do not meet means and merits tests can lose substantial funds even when winning. > Children's safety is inseparable from their primary carer's safety, most often the mother, and this is not recognised. ## Basic data on cases is missing Dr Adrienne Barnett, director of Right to Equality, said there is a dearth of basic data around these cases. Officials do not know what percentage of returning parents are mothers or how many cases end in children being returned without their parent. > On top of not knowing how often domestic violence is alleged and found, we don't even know what percentage of returning parents are mothers. ## Analysis long overdue, says MP Lisa Smart, a Liberal Democrat MP and long-term campaigner on Hague convention shortcomings, said the analysis was long overdue. A parent escaping violence should not face a legal mechanism that treats them as a wrongdoer. > A parent, often but not always the mother, who escapes to this country to protect themselves and their children from violence should not find themselves faced with a legal mechanism that treats them as a wrongdoer. ## No timeline set for research findings A Home Office spokesperson said there is no timeline for the new research but it is intended to provide robust evidence to inform possible future government policy on the convention's operation in England and Wales. ## Key takeaway The UK government has agreed to analyse how domestic abuse affects international child abduction cases under the Hague convention, aiming to better protect mothers who flee violence with their children.