Child abduction
Overview
Child abduction or Child theft is the unauthorized removal of a minor
(a child under the age of legal adulthood
) from the custody
of the child's natural
or legally appointed
guardians.
The term child abduction confounds two legal and social categories which differ by their perpetrating contexts: abduction by members of the child's family or abduction by strangers:
Minor (law)
In law, a minor is a person under a certain age — the age of majority — which legally demarcates childhood from adulthood; the age depends upon jurisdiction and application, but is typically 18...
(a child under the age of legal adulthood
Age of majority
The age of majority is the threshold of adulthood as it is conceptualized in law. It is the chronological moment when minors cease to legally be considered children and assume control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thereby terminating the legal control and legal responsibilities of...
) from the custody
Custody
Custody may refer to:* Legal custody* Child custody, a description of the legal relationship between a parent and child* Police custody or detention, a lawful holding of a person by removing their freedom of liberty...
of the child's natural
Parent
A parent is a caretaker of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is of a child . Children can have one or more parents, but they must have two biological parents. Biological parents consist of the male who sired the child and the female who gave birth to the child...
or legally appointed
Legal guardian
A legal guardian is a person who has the legal authority to care for the personal and property interests of another person, called a ward. Usually, a person has the status of guardian because the ward is incapable of caring for his or her own interests due to infancy, incapacity, or disability...
guardians.
The term child abduction confounds two legal and social categories which differ by their perpetrating contexts: abduction by members of the child's family or abduction by strangers:
- Parental child abductionParental child abductionBy far the most common kind of child abduction is parental child abduction and often occurs when the parents separate or begin divorce proceedings...
: a family relative's (usually parent's) unauthorized custody of a child without parental agreement and contrary to family law ruling, which largely removes the child from care, access and contact of the other parent and family side.
Unanswered Questions
