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| Family law |
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| Entering into marriage |
| Prenuptial agreement · Marriage |
| Common-law marriage |
| Same-sex marriage |
| Legal states similar to marriage |
| Cohabitation · Civil union |
| Domestic partnership |
| Registered partnership |
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| Annulment · Divorce · Alimony |
| Issues affecting children |
| Paternity · Legitimacy · Adoption |
| Legal guardian · Ward |
| Emancipation of minors · Foster care |
| Child Protective Services |
| Parental responsibility |
| Contact (including Visitation) |
| Residence in English law |
| Custody · Child support |
| Areas of possible legal concern |
| Spousal abuse · Child abuse |
| Child abduction · Child marriage |
| Adultery · Bigamy · Incest |
| Conflict of Laws Issues |
| Marriage · Nullity · Divorce |
Child abduction is the abduction or kidnapping of a child (or baby) by an older person. Family law is an area of the Law that deals with family-related issues and Domestic relations including but not limited to the nature of A prenuptial agreement, antenuptial agreement, or premarital agreement, commonly abbreviated to prenup or prenupt, is a Contract entered NOTICE TO WOULD-BE ROMEOS ************** Common-law marriage (or Common law marriage) sometimes called de facto marriage, informal marriage or marriage by habit and repute Same-sex marriage (also referred to as gay marriage) is a term for a legally or Socially recognized Marriage between two people of the same Cohabitation is when people live together in an emotionally- and/or physically- Intimate relationship. A civil union is a legally recognized union similar to Marriage. A domestic partnership is a legal or Personal relationship between two individuals who live together and share a common domestic life but are neither joined by a traditional Registered partnership is one of several terms synonymous with a Civil union or Civil partnership similar to Marriage, typically created in order to provide A putative marriage is an apparently valid Marriage, entered into in Good faith on the part of at least one of the partners but that is legally invalid due to Annulment in the Catholic Church See also Annulment (Catholic Church In the Roman Catholic Church, a marriage is considered to be a valid contract Divorce or dissolution of marriage is the termination of a Marriage. Alimony, maintenance or spousal support is an obligation established by Law in many countries that is based on the premise that both spouses have an absolute In law Paternity is the legal acknowledgment of the parental relationship between a man and a child usually based on several factors In Common law, legitimacy is the status of a Child that is born to parents who are legally married to one another or that is born shortly after the Adoption is the act of legally placing a child with a Parent or parents other than those to whom they were born A legal guardian is a person who has the legal authority (and the corresponding duty to care for the personal and Property interests of another person called a ward In Law, a ward is someone placed under the protection of a Legal guardian. Emancipation of minors is a legal mechanism by which a child is freed from control by their parent(s/guardian(s and the parent(s/guardian(s is/are freed from any and all responsibility Foster care is a system by which a certified stand-in "parent(s" cares for minor Children or young peoples who have been removed from their birth parents Child Protective Services (CPS is the name of a Governmental agency in many states of the United States that responds to reports of Child abuse In the states of the European Union and elsewhere parental responsibility refers to the rights and privileges which underpin the relationship between a In Family law, contact (or in the United States, visitation) is one of the general terms which denotes the level of contact a parent or other significant Residence is a term used to refer to not always similar concepts in various parts of English law including taxation immigration and family law Child custody and '''guardianship''' are Legal terms which are sometimes used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a Parent and his In family law and government policy child support or child maintenance is the ongoing obligation for a periodic payment made directly or indirectly by a non-custodial parent Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or spousal abuse) occurs when a family member partner or ex-partner attempts to physically or psychologically dominate Child abuse is the physical, psychological or sexual maltreatment of children Child marriage usually refers to two separate social phenomena which are practiced in some societies Adultery is the voluntary Sexual intercourse between a married person and another person who is not his or her Spouse, though in many places it is The term polygamy (a Greek word meaning "the practice of multiple marriage" is used in related ways in Social anthropology, Sociobiology, and Incest refers to any sexual activity between closely related persons (often within the immediate family that is illegal or socially Taboo. Conflict of laws (or private international law) is that branch of International law and intranational interstate law that regulates all Lawsuits involving In Conflict of laws, the issue of Marriage has assumed increasing public policy significance in a world of increasing multi-ethnic multi-cultural Community In Conflict of Laws, the issue of nullity (known as Annulment in the United States) in Family Law inspires a wide response among the laws In modern Society, the role of marriage and its termination through Divorce have become political issues In Criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or Asportation of a person against the person's will usually to hold the person in False imprisonment CHILD syndrome (or congenital hemidysplasia with ichthyosiform erythroderma and limb defects) is a genetic disorder
Several distinct forms of child abduction exist:
- A stranger removes a child for criminal purposes:
- for child sexual abuse, torture, or murder
- for extortion, to elicit a ransom from the child's caretakers
- A stranger removes a child, usually a baby, with the intent to rear the child as their own
- A parent removes or retains a child from the other parent's care (often in the course of or after divorce proceedings). In the sociological field, crime is the breach of a rule or Law for which some governing authority or force may ultimately prescribe a Punishment Child sexual abuse is a form of Child abuse in which a child is abused for the sexual gratification of an adult or older adolescent Torture, according to the United Nations Convention Against Torture, is "any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental is intentionally Murder is the unlawful killing of another human person with Malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries Extortion, outwresting, or exaction is a criminal offense, which occurs when a person Unlawfully obtains either money property or services Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner to extort money or property to secure their release or it can refer to the sum of money involved A parent is a Father or Mother; one who sires or gives
While cases have been reported from antiquity, this phenomenon has recently taken on greater awareness as a result of movies and television series (example: Without a Trace) depictions of the premise of people who remove children from strangers to bring up as their own often after the death of their own child. Without a Trace is an American television show set in New York City.
Contents |
Abductions by strangers
Perhaps the most feared (although not the most common) kind of abduction is removal by a stranger. The stereotypical version of stranger abduction is the classic form of "kidnapping," exemplified by the Lindbergh kidnapping, in which the child is detained, transported some distance, held for ransom or with intent to keep the child permanently. In Criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or Asportation of a person against the person's will usually to hold the person in False imprisonment The kidnapping of Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr, the Toddler son of world famous Aviator Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, occurred These instances are, however, rare. [1]
By stranger to raise as own
A very small number of abductions result from (typically) women who kidnap babies (or other young children) to bring up as their own. These women are often unable to have children of their own and seek to satisfy their unmet psychological need by abducting a child rather than by adopting. Adoption is the act of legally placing a child with a Parent or parents other than those to whom they were born The crime is often premeditated, with the woman often simulating pregnancy to reduce suspicion when a baby suddenly appears in the household. A simulated pregnancy is a deliberate attempt to create the false impression of Pregnancy.
An example of child abduction is the case of Montana Barbaro, stolen from Melbourne, Australia on Saturday 7 August 2004. Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Events 322 BC - Battle of Crannon between Athens and Macedon following the death of Alexander the Great. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " A male attacker knocked the mother to the ground, and a female removed the baby. They fled in a car. Montana was recovered some 40 hours later, unharmed. Similar cases include the abductions of Alex Griffiths, in 1990, and Abbie Humphries, in 1994. Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) Both were infants snatched from their maternity ward, shortly after birth, by women intending to raise them as their own children.
Parental child abduction
By far the most common kind of child abduction is parental child abduction and often occurs when the parents separate or begin divorce proceedings. A parent may remove or retain the child from the other seeking to gain an advantage in expected or pending child-custody proceedings or because that parent fears losing the child in those expected or pending child-custody proceedings; a parent may refuse to return a child at the end of an access visit or may flee with the child to prevent an access visit. In Family law, contact (or in the United States, visitation) is one of the general terms which denotes the level of contact a parent or other significant Parental child abductions may be within the same city, within the state region or within the same country, or may be international. Studies performed for the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention reported that in 1999, 53% percent of family abducted children were gone less than one week, and 21% were gone one month or more, NISMART National Family Abduction Report, October 2002
Depending on the laws of the state and country in which the parental abduction occurs, this may or may not constitute a criminal offense. For animal rights group see Justice Department (JD The United States Department of Justice ( DOJ) is a Cabinet department The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (or OJJDP) is an office of the United States Department of Justice and a component of the Office of For example, removal of a child from the UK for a period of 28 days or more without the permission of the other parent (or person with parental responsibility), is a criminal offense. In many states of the United States, if there is no formal custody order, and the parents are not living together, the removal of a child by one parent is not an offense. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
Many US States have criminalized interstate child abduction and the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) has undertaken a project to draft a uniform state law dealing with parental abduction. The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws ( NCCUSL) is a non-profit unincorporated association in the United States that consists of Commissioners [6]
International parental child abduction
Serious problems can arise when parental abduction results in moving a child, with a parent, across an international border. The laws of the countries are different, and a foreign child custody order may not be recognized. The United States added specific language to American passports in the mid-1990s concerning international parental abduction. International child abduction is a federal felony under U. S. law. [2]
The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is an international treaty and legal mechanism to recover children abducted to another country by one parent or family member. The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is a Multilateral Treaty developed by the Hague Conference on Private International The Hague does not provide relief in many cases. A private industry emerged to address this gap. Covert recovery was first made public when Don Feeney, a former Delta Commando, responded to a desperate mother's plea to locate, and recover her daughter from Jordan in the 1980s. Feeney successfully located and returned the child. A movie and book about Feeney's exploits lead to other desperate parents seeking him out for recovery services. [3]
International child abduction is not new. A case of international child abduction has been documented aboard the Titanic. However, the incidence of international child abduction continues to increase due to the ease of international travel, increase in bi-cultural marriages and a high divorce rate. Parental abduction has been defined as child abuse. [4]
Children abducted for slavery
There are reports that abduction of children to be used or sold as slaves is common in parts of Africa. As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another
The Lord's Resistance Army, a rebel paramilitary group operating mainly in northern Uganda, is notorious for its abductions of children for use as child soldiers or sex slaves. The Republic of Uganda is a Landlocked country in East Africa. The military use of Children takes three distinct forms children can take direct part in hostilities (child soldiers or they can be used in support roles such as porters spies messengers Sexual slavery refers to the organised coercion of persons into various different sexual practices forced Prostitution single-owner sexual slavery According to the Sudan Tribune, as of 2005, more than 20,000 children have been kidnapped by the LRA. The Sudan Tribune is a non profit website based in France that was launched in July 2003 Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. [7]
Child abduction and the Internet
The internet has become both a danger and an aid in the subject of child abduction. It is a place where online predators can communicate with potential victims. 1 in 25 youth (about 4%) got "aggressive" sexual solicitations that included attempts to contact the youth offline. These are the episodes most likely to result in actual victimizations. (About one-quarter of these aggressive solicitations came from people the youth knew in person, mostly other youth. )[5]
Because of the threat these predators pose, there have also been efforts to use the internet as a resource to prevent child abduction or to help the families of those who have been abducted.
Organizations have set up websites where users can go to gain knowledge or contribute help to stopping child abduction. Among these are the organizations Enough is Enough and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which have partnered with the online community Myspace to help keep the internet a safe place for children. MySpace is a popular social networking Website offering an interactive user-submitted network of friends personal profiles blogs groups photos music and In addition to donating new database technology to Sentinel Tech[6] that enables websites to locate, remove and block convicted sex offenders, Myspace is also a sponsor of Enough Is Enough 's Internet Safety 101:Empowering Parents Program.
Myspace also features pages and groups dedicated to helping find missing children.
See also
- AMBER Alert
- Child abduction alert system
- Child Protective Services
- Code Adam
- Missing Kids Website
- National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
- Take Root
Notes
- ^ A study commissioned by the US Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention found that there were only approximately 115 stereotypical stranger abductions in 1999. An AMBER Alert is a Child abduction alert system, issued to the general public by various media outlets in Canada and in the United States, when police A child abduction alert system is an alert system designed to produce a coordinated response by the Emergency services and media, if a child is abducted Child Protective Services (CPS is the name of a Governmental agency in many states of the United States that responds to reports of Child abuse Code Adam is a internationally-recognized "missing child" safety program in the United States and Canada, originally created by Wal-Mart retail The UK Missing Kids Website forms part of the global Missing Kids network of 15 countries worldwide featuring images of missing children The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children ( NCMEC) is a private Non-profit organization established in the United States in 1984 under United Take Root, a non-profit organization funded by the US Department of Justice, is the first missing-child organization ever founded by former Abducted NISMART National Non-Family Abduction Report October 2002
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ [5]
External links
- BBC News report: West Africa's child slave trade, 6 August, 1999.
- Map of Missing Children in North America (using the Google Map API)
- Illustrated articles on history of parental abduction
- International Expertise Center Childabduction.EU
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