Roz, CEO of GlobalARRK discusses the 1980 Hague Convention in New Zealand and its wider context.
“Globalarrk founder Roz Osborne started the charity 12 years ago after she became stuck in Portugal. It took two years of Family Court battles before she could move back to the UK with her children. Many women flee because they lack the means to leave lawfully, she says.
“The problem that we’re seeing all over the world ‒ but particularly in New Zealand ‒ is these [relocation] cases are very difficult to win and they take years to complete. They cost a lot of money. It can be hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Her charity has handled many cases where women flee, get served under the Hague Convention and have to send their children back, never to see them again.
“These things are often not about the child,” Osborne says. “It’s not about what’s best for the child, or even seeing the child sometimes. In these abusive relationships it can just be about exerting that control and power over your ex-partner. And it works.”
https://www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/350391502/hague-convention-i-wish-he-had-hit-me
