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Lights Out - a space for documentaries that encourage you to take a closer listen. In this episode - flight, return and silence. An exploration of the lives of women trapped by an international treaty.

The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction was set up in the 1980s to make sure children who’d been taken by one parent to another country without the other parent’s permission were returned quickly. Today, the majority of abductions are committed by women, many of whom are fleeing domestic abuse and returning to their home country taking their children with them.

Two British mothers share their experiences of being ‘Hagued’ by their ex-husbands - one was a rare exception who won her case, while the other returned with her children to her ex-husband’s country voluntarily, only to lose everything. A third woman speaks for the many others who are still silenced years after going through a Hague Convention court case.

Details of organisations offering information and support with domestic abuse are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline, or you can call for free, at any time to hear recorded information on 0800 888 809. Alternatively, these organisations offer support:
https://www.reunite.org/
https://www.globalarrk.org/

Produced by Andrea Rangecroft
A Falling Tree Production for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4