Child abduction occurs when one parent decides to take the child to live in another country without the consent of the other parent. Child abduction is also perceived as a criminal offence in terms of various judgements pronounced in this regard.

The 1980 Hague Convention provides that children removed from one country and taken into another without the consent of the left behind parent should be returned to the country from which they have been abducted. In order to return a child to its country of habitual residence, legal proceedings need to be instituted.