97% of Scottish parents blind to the threat of child abduction

A survey conducted by SCAR has highlighted just how unaware parents are about the impact of the unique child abduction laws in scotland.

AUGUST 2023

96.6% of respondents to the 2023 questionnaire incorrectly believe that the removal of their child would classify as a criminal offence. The revealing figures show that almost all parents (97.2%) would expect Police Scotland to be able to assist in finding and returning their children home. This is not the case in Scotland.

SCAR’s online research reached hundreds of parents of Scottish children. Of the 386 respondents that volunteered their feedback, 97% claimed to be a parent or guardian living in Scotland.

26.4% of those who believed this was a criminal offence stated that theY did not know what it was called. 70.2% believed this to be child abduction.

The results provide a very clear and concerning picture of just how misplaced the opinion of Scottish parents are when considering the act of parental child abduction which is ACKNOWLEDGED as BEING one of the most flagrant forms of child abuse.

Since the creation of a legal loophole almost 40 years ago, Scottish children have gone unprotected from removal from their home by a parent. The Child Abduction Act 1984 makes it a criminal offence for anyone to take or send a child under the age of 16 out of the UK without the appropriate consent.

Bizarrely however, a ‘temporary measure’ was included in the legislation meaning that this law did not pertain to Scottish children. instead, an additional court order would need to be sought from a Scottish parent prior to an abduction to make this a criminal offence. This temporary measure was never readdressed in parliament and the Scottish government has continued to neglect their responsibility to ‘Get It Right for Every Child’ FACING THESE TRAUMATIC CIRCUMSTANCES.

Further to being at odds with the law in England and Wales, the forceful removal of a child from a parent in Scotland is clearly contrary to current Scottish child protection guidance. 

Further information on the Scottish legal loophole can be found on SCAR’s info pages.