What is not part of the child abduction news story?

Pediatric Nursing, Jan-Feb, 2007 by Veronica D. Feeg

A recent report of two rescued boys who had disappeared from their neighborhoods, one who had vanished for 4 years, described the elation of families reunited who had never given up hope to find their kidnapped children. Along with public sympathy for what must have been a tragic ordeal for this pre-teenager, the story prompted questions about how this could have happened. How could a kidnapped child live with his abductor for so many years without making attempts to escape?

When a child goes missing and the media launches into action, the stories are told with attention to the details of the abduction circumstances and through the tears of distraught parents. Perhaps the idea that someone could steal and harm a child is so unthinkable to any parent that the terror associated with such a report makes us hungry for news information as it unfolds. We seem to have a heightened sensitivity to the heinous nature of the crime and we may unknowingly develop a skewed perception of our vulnerability to stranger perpetrated kidnapping and an unfounded disbelief that a victim would resign himself to his situation.

Child abduction, as described through the sensationalized news headlines, often misses or misrepresents a problem of national concern. Politicians rush to develop strong rhetoric about predators with subsequent policies that speak to so-called rampant crimes while overlooking the data on parent abduction of children and the posttraumatic stress disorder that can result in survivors of family and non-family abductions. These need as much attention as we give to the criminal aspects of the stories.

Most Child Abductions are Not by Strangers

According to most statistics, "stereotypical" abductions, such as those involving a stranger who kidnaps a child with malicious intent are far lower than we might be lead to believe. According to the Justice Department, in the past 20 years the per-capita child abduction by non-family members has not increased appreciably (Rosemond, 2006). Almost 80% of child abductions are not by strangers. Over 200,000 children are kidnapped each year by family members seeking to interfere with parental visitation rights, while 58,000 are taken by non-family members and returned unharmed (www.takeroot.org, 2007). By comparison, only 115 cases of kidnappings for the purpose of ransom or harm occurred (Hampel, 2007), and although each and every single case is unfathomable, the proportion of stranger abduction is actually small.

"The effects of parental child kidnapping are widely and deeply misunderstood in our society" states Rick Paris, founder of Take Root, an organization for adult survivors of parental child kidnappings (Becker, 2006). The effect is traumatic, with frequent uprooting from the child's life and then isolation from everyone but the abducting parent. It can be perceived as a non-crime even when the abducting parent flees and hides because, in fact, the child is with one parent. As a misdemeanor, there are insufficient resources to mount a statewide chase. Paris describes his own ordeal of being kidnapped by his mother as "... like being a hostage ... you become very good at keeping [the hostage taker] happy." The stressful ordeal prompts long-term emotional consequences that warrant mental health services and support that often go unidentified.

Organization to Support Survivors of Child Abduction

There are a variety of organizations that exist to help find and recover missing children. There is less support to study or lessen the impact of the trauma from the abduction and the subsequent healing that needs to occur. For children who are abducted by a parent, the organization Take Root (http://www.takeroot.org) offers support and education to facilitate healing. Its mission is to give voice to formerly abducted children while providing knowledge and advocacy in raising public awareness of their needs.

What we need now is a wider frame to view and interpret child abduction. In addition to the programs designed to teach children how to be safe, we need development of evidence-based knowledge about the psychological sequella of abductions. The characteristic symptoms following exposure to an extreme traumatic stressor make up the diagnostic features of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which currently lacks a child specific DSM-IV diagnosis (APA, 2000). We should call attention to the need for research funding of this and so many other mental health and behavioral issues in children, which pose serious threats to significantly more children than the likelihood of being kidnapped by a stranger.

References

American Psychiatric Association (APA). (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, Fourth edition. Washington DC: Author.

Becker, M. (August 25, 2006). Kidnapped by mom or dad--a story rarely told. Buffalo News, p. A1.

Hampel, P. (January 28, 2007). What you (and your kids) need to know about child abduction. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. B1.

Rosemond, J. (December 5, 2006). Walking to school by herself. The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC). p. E3.