Parental child abduction

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Parental child abduction" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Parental child abduction is the hiding, taking, or keeping hold of a child by a parent while defying the rights of the child's other parent or guardian.^[1]

This abduction often occurs when the parents separate or begin divorce proceedings. One parent may take or retain the child to gain an advantage in subsequent child-custody proceedings. One parent may refuse to return the child at the end of an access visit or flee with the child to prevent an access visit, possibly fearing domestic violence and abuse. It can also occur when a child has been, is about to be, or parent(s) fear that they will be taken into the care of authorities, typically due to child endangerment proceedings.