Globalisation and the growth of international travel have led to a sharp increase in the number of cross-border abductions.

The exact figures for trans-national child abduction are not known, as many parents are reluctant to report their cases to the authorities. The only available official figures could well understate the problem. Even so, they are alarmingly high: the Bureau of Consular Affairs at the US States Department has worked on more than 8,000 cases since the early 1980s. But congressional investigators (PDF, Acrobat Reader required) estimated that since 1993, the actual number of children affected could easily be in the region of 10,000.

PACT raises awareness and campaigns for better law to protect these children.

Parental Abduction