Child abduction is common enough to have provoked international treaties and can certainly have a powerful impact on both children who have been abducted and parents who are left behind. Despite its destructive force, little media attention has focused on the problem. Had it not been for the ordeal of the Cuban boy, Elián Gonzalez, and his father Juan, few people would understand how strongly politicized abduction decisions have become and consequently how difficult it is to get a child returned from a foreign country.

Later this year, a few parents and children will have the opportunity to tell their stories on 'Cutting Edge,' an Australian documentary series on SBS Television. Electric Pictures, an independent production house based in Perth has been commissioned to create the documentary. Producers are currently looking for adults and older teenagers in Australia who have been abducted and would like to reflect on their experience, as well as abducting parents who can talk about why they made the decision to abduct.

The most common abductions might not fit the profile people expect. According to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, custodial parents who disappear with children are guilty of child abduction if it causes loss of contact with anyone who has a right to contact with the children.

The documentary will work from a definition provided by the Australian Attorney General that is consistent with the international convention. "Parental child abduction mainly involves the wrongful removal or retention of a child by one parent in breach of the rights of the child to have contact, on a regular basis, with both parents."

Director of the upcoming documentary Tosca Looby explains their progress. "Thus far we have followed a couple of different stories of abduction, including a father whose daughter has been abducted to a non-Hague Convention country, and a mother whose son has been abducted to the UK. She has lost her Hague Convention application to have him returned."

To bring a broad perspective to the program, they are also seeking to interview an adult or older teenager who can reflect on his or her memories of abduction and the impact it has had during the years since.

In addition to personal accounts, they are interviewing a representative of the Australian Attorney General's office, the Federal Police, and lawyers, counselors and private investigators who have experience with child abduction cases.

According to Looby; "Our programme will consciously return to the question of the 'interests of the child' as it investigates the state, federal, and international systems created to deal with child abduction cases. Via personal stories and expert
interviews we will seek to understand the solutions offered by the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, its pitfalls and the potential chaos relating to abductions from non-Convention countries. We will look at the extent of parental child abduction as a problem in our society, the impact on children involved and the reasons parents may choose to abduct, apply for a Convention hearing or even reabduct."

"We hope this Programme will act as a powerful portrait illustrating the trauma associated with parental child abduction. This seems to be the one obvious constant in the diversity of cases travelling through the world's family courts."

Tosca Looby can be contacted at tl@electricpictures.com.au or by phone in Australia; 08 9339 1133.