Submitted by Rosalind Osborne on Tuesday 18th November 2025
Published on Friday 19th December 2025
Current status: Open
Open until: Friday 19th June 2026
Current Signatures: 227
(count is updated approximately hourly)
Relevant Departments
Tagged with
abuse ~ Child ~ Children ~ commission ~ country ~ Crime ~ Criminal ~ Da ~ Domestic ~ Domestic abuse ~ Experienced ~ IMPACT ~ Internationals ~ Lively ~ Mothers ~ Nature ~ Origin ~ part ~ Police ~ Policing Bill ~ Remove ~ Retain ~ STRATEGY ~ The Bill ~ Victim
Stop criminalisation of parents who take children abroad due to domestic abuse
75% of 'child abductions' involve mothers. Most are taking their child back to their country of origin and have experienced Domestic Abuse (DA).
Making the retention of a child a criminal act in the Crime and Policing Bill will have unintended consequences including the criminalisation of mothers who are victims of DA.
1. Commission a new impact assessment which includes lived experiences and data on the gendered nature of this issue and how it may affect victims of domestic abuse
2. Remove the proposed Child Abduction clause (Part 7, Clause 104) in the Crime and Policing Bill which extends criminalisation to parents who retain their child abroad.
3. Amend the existing Child Abduction Act 1984 to include clear protections for victims of domestic abuse and intolerable situations such as destitution.
4. Align the Bill with the UK’s domestic abuse strategy and international obligations to protect victims and children
If you want to sign this petition (as opposed to merely discuss it), you need to do that on the government's e-Petitions website.
216.73.216.219 Thu, 04 Jun 2026 06:44:26 +0100
