What If She Leaves? Domestic Violence Cases Under the Hague Convention and the Insufficiency of the Undertakings Remedy

With special focus on the US, this article discusses the impact of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction on women who are being domestically abused. The author shows that women who flee the country with their children in escape from an abusive partner are often returned by the receiving country to the country of origin where they may face child abduction charges. She demonstrates that this return principle does not prioritize the needs of women; rather, "return, as applied in domestic violence cases, denies women's autonomy, furthers cultural imperialism, and perpetuates class inequalities". She argues that a better solution would be to create an explicit domestic violence defense to claims of child abduction. [Descriptors: Violence Against Women, International]