Battered Latina Mothers Fleeing to the United States for Safety: Hague Convention Cases & Domestic Violence

Background/Purpose: Women who are in domestic violence situations sometimes have to leave one country for another in search of safety. Under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, international treaties may be invoked that result in a mother who has escaped from abuse being forced to return her children to a violent partner, and labeling her as a child abductor. According to U.S. State Department records, a high number of incoming child abduction cases involve women and children from Mexico and Latin America. This study explores the unique characteristics of the battered Latina immigrant mothers who face a Hague petition in the United States.

Method: Qualitative narrative research methods were used to explore the situations of battered women who were respondents to a Hague petition in U.S. courts. Extensive interviews were completed with 21 battered mothers: 16 U. S. citizens and 5 immigrant women, including 4 women from Latin America. The four Latina women's interviews were conducted in Spanish and centered on the events leading up to the Hague petition being filed, including: women's experience in the abusive relationship, resources, challenges facing their children, and legal processes. The interview data were coded using a consensual team process and themes were identified through within case and cross-case analyses. Analyses focused on the distinctive experiences of the Latina immigrant women in the sample.

Results: Primary themes that emerged from these narratives included: 1) severe domestic violence that led to a decision to flee to family in the U.S. for safety; 2) inadequate response of systems in the home country to the severe abuse women and children faced; 3) immigration issues and threats by the abusive husband; 4) barriers, particularly in regards to legal systems and language; and 5) resiliency and resourcefulness of the women. In three of the four cases, the children were allowed to stay in the US with their mothers, though domestic violence was not considered as a primary factor in these rulings. Two of these women petitioned for asylum which ultimately led to rulings in favor of the mothers in the Hague case as the court prioritized waiting for resolution of the woman's immigration asylum claim.

Implications: Most immigrant Latina women who were respondents to a Hague petition were able to find safety for themselves and their children by coming to the U.S. Their situations differed from other immigrant women because the abuse they experienced occurred in another country, so they were not eligible for legal assistance available to immigrant women who are victimized in the U.S. Despite these barriers to safety, the women were resourceful in finding help to allow them to cope with the violence. While these mothers share some similarities with U.S. citizen women involved in Hague domestic violence cases and with immigrant battered women in the U.S., their unique circumstances suggest the importance of developing interventions focused on safety strategies, immigration and domestic violence advocacy, and language access for battered immigrant mothers in international custody cases and transnational relationships.