A Family Resource Guide on International Parental Kidnapping (pdf)
Presents practical and detailed advice about preventing international kidnapping and increasing the chance that children who are kidnapped or wrongfully retained will be returned. It provides descriptions and realistic assessments of the civil and criminal remedies available in international parental kidnapping cases, explains applicable laws and identifies both the public and private resources that may be called upon when an international abduction occurs or is threatened, and prepares parents for the legal and emotional difficulties they may experience.
AMBER Alert Best Practices (pdf)
This is a guide to enhance the ability of law enforcement, broadcasters and child protection officials to safely recover missing and abducted children. The guide details effective practices for training law enforcement, activating and broadcasting an AMBER Alert, disseminating information to the public and approaching family members of an abducted child.
Barbara J. Hart's Collected Writings
Barbara J. Hart is the Legal Director of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Associate Director of the Battered Women's Justice Project, and Legal Consultant to the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence. This document contains 16 of her writings around issues of domestic violence.
Child Protection Information Sheets (pdf)
"This booklet comprises 14 information sheets which highlight how child protection is crucial to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Covering different forms of abuse, these sheets also outline how to build a protective environment for children and what UNICEF is doing on the ground to protect children."
Considering the Victim in the Implementation of Megan's Laws
This Violence Against Women Online Resources commissioned document focuses on the mixture of opinions and the limited attempts at evaluating community notification as they relate to victim and community safety. It examines notification through the lens of victim safety and privacy rather than through the lens of criminal justice issues.
Early Identification of Risk Factors for Parental Abduction (pdf)
12-page Bulletin posted by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The bulletin provides information regarding the risk factors associated with parental kidnapping and strategies that can be used to intervene with families at greatest risk. They address such critical factors as the characteristics of parents who abduct their own children, the role family violence plays in increasing the likelihood of parental abduction, ways of identifying children at risk of being abducted by a parent or other family member, and steps that can be taken to protect children from family abduction.
Issues in Resolving Cases of International Child Abduction by Parents (pdf)
Dec. 2001 Bulletin. Presents key findings from a study funded by OJJDP to identify barriers encountered by those seeking to resolve cases of international child abduction by parents. Conducted by the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law, the study explored experiences of left-behind parents, practices of Hague Convention Central Authorities (agencies responsible for handling international abduction cases), and promising strategies for law enforcement personnel and other professionals. The Bulletin features highlights from the study, including survey results, best practices, and recommendations. It also provides background information on international parental abductions and the legal framework that affects these cases.
Kidnaping of Juveniles: Patterns From NIBRS (pdf)
8-page Bulletin posted by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). This Bulletin describes the offense of kidnapping of juveniles using 1997 NIBRS data. Among other significant findings, the analysis reveals that such abductions are relatively uncommon; that there are three distinct kinds of perpetrators; and that the rate of juvenile kidnapping peaks in the afternoon.
National Estimates of Missing Children: An Overview
The National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children (NISMART) are periodic national incidence studies to determine the actual number of children reported missing and the number of missing children who are recovered for a given year. This Bulletin describes the NISMART–2 efforts and presents the results: unified estimates of the number of missing children in the United States. Published in 2002, the data are from 1997-1999.
No estás solo: El camino del secuestro al empoderamiento (pdf)
(You're Not Alone: The Journey From Abduction to Empowerment) This document presents the stories of child abduction survivors and how their lives changed after their traumatic experiences.
Personal Safety for Children: A Guide for Parents
"This guide gives tips to help parents keep their children safer at home, at school, and in the community. Available in English and Spanish."
Second Comprehensive Study of Missing Children (pdf)
A 6-page Bulletin posted by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The design of the National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children (NISMART 2) study is described in this Bulletin, which outlines how it will provide vital data on the incidence of missing children in seven categories: runaway/thrownaway, nonfamily abduction, family abduction, custodial interference, lost and involuntarily missing, missing due to injury, missing due to false alarm situations, as well as children who have been sexually assaulted.
The Criminal Justice System's Response to Parental Abduction (pdf)
15-page Bulletin. As research has demonstrated, the most prevalent form of child abduction in the United States is parental kidnapping. This Bulletin draws on findings of a study conducted for OJJDP by the American Bar Association's Center on Children and the Law and Westat to examine the criminal justice system's response to parental abduction.
The Future of the Grave Risk Of Harm Defense in Hague Cases
This article discusses the future of the grave risk of harm defense in Hague Convention international child abduction cases. It provides an interpretation of the Hague Convention in the traditional view as well as in the context of domestic violence. Examples of court rulings are provided which evaluated the nature of abuse and the likelihood of legal protection in the country to which the children are being returned.
The project seeks to increase the identification of violence against women in international parental child abduction cases processed in U.S. Courts. That identification will allow the American legal community to help protect battered mothers and their children as they cross international borders to safety in the United States. Specifically, this Web site provides information and resources for individuals, attorneys and non-lawyers who litigate or participate in cases involving the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction where domestic violence is an issue.
Understanding and Protecting Your Children from Child Molesters and Predators
"This packet provides information about child molesters and some of the things you, your family and community can do to help keep children safe."
What About Me? Coping with the abduction of a brother or sister (pdf)
"This booklet is based largely on input from eight children who have experienced the abduction of a brother or sister by a nonfamily member. It is designed to provide help, support, and guidance to children who are going through this type of trauma. "
When Your Child is Missing: A Family Survival Guide
This guide was prepared with the assistance of parents and other family members who have experienced the trauma of a missing child. It provides firsthand insights into what parents should do and what they should expect, and offers heartfelt words of hope and encouragement at a time when they are needed most.
The Spanish-language version Cuando su Nino Desaparece: Una Guia Para la Supervivencia de la Familia is also available.
You're Not Alone: The Journey From Abduction to Empowerment (pdf)
"Presents several stories of child abduction survivors and how they have grown and developed from their traumatic experiences. This guide, written by survivors of child abduction, provides information to help other child abduction survivors cope with their own experiences and begin their journeys towards a better future. Additionally, this guide contains space where readers can write down their own thoughts and feelings in response to each personal story."
Young People’s Voices on Child Trafficking: Experiences from South Eastern Europe (pdf)
"The UNICEF Innocenti Centre (formally known as the International Child Development Centre) based in Florence, Italy, released a report in December 2008 on child trafficking. The report is based on interviews with 31 individuals in Albania, Kosovo, Republic of Moldova and Romania who had been trafficked when under the age of 18. It details children’s experiences with trafficking and support services. "
¿Y yo? Cómo sobrellevar el secuestro de un hermano o una hermana (pdf)
(What About Me? Coping with the Abduction of a Brother or Sister) This document offers insight from siblings of abducted children.