by Gianluca Mattei
TIO - 04.12.2022
Every year there are dozens of incidents of child abduction by one of the parents. And it's mothers who do it the most.
LOSANNA - In aumento costante da almeno dieci anni: sono i rapimenti dei figli (l'ultimo episodio solo una decina di giorni fa a Thônex). I dati dell'Ufficio federale di giustizia non lasciano adito a dubbi: ogni anno sono decine gli episodi di sottrazione di minori da parte di uno dei genitori.
But the investigation itself reveals which of the two commits the crime more frequently: it is the mothers.
In Switzerland, in 2021, 68 requests for the repatriation of children were sent to states that are co-signatories of the Hague Convention (a convention that provides for a rapid repatriation procedure).
"Increasing mobility is increasingly leading to families being founded between people from different countries, and in the event of family conflicts and divorces, people often wish to return to their country of origin and bring their joint children with them," Ingrid Ryser, spokesperson for the UFG, told Le Matin.
E le rilevazioni effettuate dall'UFG rilevano che «sono le madri a partire con i figli nel 75% dei casi». Dato che fa il paio con quanto dichiarato dalla polizia vodese: «sette degli undici accusati di aver rapito minori nel 2021 erano donne».
«Spesso è la madre a prendersi cura del bambino dopo la separazione e nella gran parte dei casi torna nel suo Paese, dove il più delle volte ha una rete familiare che la sostiene» ha aggiunto sempre Ingrid Ryser al quotidiano losannese.
However, there is a sensitive issue—as many associations working in this field maintain—that this issue raises: violence. The root of these forced removals—the most common justification given—is "the desire to protect one's children from abuse or violence.".
Ma quali strumenti anche legislativi vigono in materia? «Quando un bambino viene portato all'estero, il genitore che rimane in Svizzera può rivolgersi al Servizio sociale internazionale (SSI), parallelamente al procedimento giudiziario - spiega la responsabile operativa Élodie Antony.
Present in 120 countries, it conducts searches primarily when the country in question is not a member of the Hague Convention. "In this case, we use a mediation-based approach to establish contact with the abductor parent," explains Élodie Antony, operations manager of the ISS.
This is their only method of intervention, "since there is no direct legal way to request restitution." The organization's mission is to re-establish ties between the child and his family in Switzerland, "so that the family can obtain information." The next step is to reach an agreement "that would allow the child's return, in the most favorable cases.".
Lebanon, Algeria, and Iraq are some of the non-treaty countries where the ISS is most active. To prevent kidnappings, the Geneva-based association ScopalE tries to engage in prevention by convening parents "so they can better understand the meaning of separation," said co-president Camille Maulini.
There may be tensions, but the child's needs must be put first from the start. Otherwise, it can take years to overcome the trauma of the parents' deep conflict, as can happen after a kidnapping.
