Being ‘Hagued’: How weaponising the Hague Convention harms women, family and domestic violence survivors

Abstract

This paper examines the experiences of women who have been ‘Hagued’: forced, through a court-facilitated process enabled by the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, to return children taken unlawfully across international borders. It considers how the convention, which lacks specific mechanisms to account for family and domestic violence, is weaponised against women fleeing such violence. It identifies three types of harm: further intimidation and abuse by an expartner through contact necessitated by court proceedings; punishment through a court system that positions the woman as a ‘child abductor’ and may engender adverse custody arrangements; and homelessness caused by lack of support structures, income and financial independence. Finally, it suggests improvements to reduce or avoid this harm.