Taking Care of Yourself and Your Family


Parental child abduction is a tragedy that has long-term consequences for both the child and the left-behind parent. When a child is abducted across international borders, the difficulties are compounded for everyone involved.

Difficulties for Left-Behind Parents

For left-behind parents, the trauma begins when they return home to find that the other parent has left and taken the children, or when they allow the children to travel abroad to visit the other parent, only to find that they do not return.  Left-behind parents encounter substantial psychological, emotional, and financial problems.  They may be paralyzed by helplessness and the sense that they have no idea where to start in the process of recovering their child.  When the child has been abducted across international borders, the left-behind parent may face unfamiliar legal, cultural, and linguistic barriers.

Left-behind parents experience a wide range of emotions including betrayal, the loss of their child and/or their marriage, anger against the other parent, anxiety, sleeplessness, and severe depression.

Finding Support

Although international parental child abduction has far-reaching consequences, its significance is not widely understood.  Left-behind parents may have difficulty finding the support that they need and getting legal assistance. 

  • Peer Support Groups – We recommend considering contacting a peer support organization.  Organizations such as Take Root or Team Hope can link left-behind parents together.  Other left-behind parents can provide invaluable support during this painful period.
    • Take Root – 1-800-Root-Org 
    • Team Hope – 1-866-305-HOPE
  • Victim Assistance – The Office of Children’s Issues works closely with victim assistance specialists in Overseas Citizens Services.  They can help you locate a variety of resources to support you during this time.  Ask your case officer in our office to put you in touch with one of these specialists. 

 

Respond to Abduction: Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5