“I’m Kate*, an Australian woman who was held against her will in Europe, by my abusive partner while I was pregnant. Because of the violence and stress I was under, there were medical complications in my pregnancy and I was forced to give birth to my daughter in Europe.

I am fighting against a dangerous, abusive man who employed coercive control tactics to harass me. He physically assaulted me, made sexual jokes about my daughter, used her to punish me and keep me submissive. Somehow I managed to escape him to protect myself and my daughter. If I were forced to return to where he is, I don’t think I’ll make it out alive.”

Despite this abuse, international law is forcing Kate and her baby girl to return to the country of their abuser. Australian politicians have the power to protect the hundreds of Australian women and children in similar situations through legislative change. Please sign the petition. 

Under The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, a child is considered “abducted” if they are removed by one parent without the other parent’s consent. Studies completed in 2018 show that most parents fighting return orders imposed by the Hague Convention are mothers fleeing domestic violence. 

There are many Australian mothers who have returned home, in search of safety, family and social support. They need to heal from their traumas in a safe space surrounded with loved ones. To be forced to return to their abusers is not just cruel, but a death sentence for many.

Every year, over 170 Australian women and their children are ordered by Australian courts to return to foreign countries, where there is a known perpetrator. Usually these women are met by the abuser at the airport where the children are taken. Many women are abused, intentionally injured or killed within weeks of their return. Statistics show that over 70% of the time the courts are knowingly sending children into abusive situations. The Australian courts do not consider domestic violence a valid reason to stay home.

Australia’s laws must be amended to protect vulnerable mothers and kids. The courts cannot continue to place women’s lives and children’s safety in jeopardy.

At a time when Australians are being told not to leave the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Australian judges are ordering vulnerable Australian children and their Australian mothers to return to the abusive environments they fled, where they have little or no support networks.

Please sign the petition to call on Australian politicians to urgently pass a law that overrules The Hague Convention and allows Australian mothers and their children to stay in the safety of Australia if abuse is shown, and recognises that it would be intolerable and unreasonably dangerous to send children and their mothers into lockdown during the pandemic.