Child abduction: "No one stops a parent who leaves Spain with their child without permission."

"When a parent thinks they own the child, they put their distance ," Javier Somoza told ABC from the Association for Children Without Rights (NISDE). "My son has been missing for eight years. Imagine living with the anguish of not knowing if your child is alive," he added.

And the truth is, "there are no borders in Spain or Europe. A parent can take the child, even with an exit ban , because no one asks the other parent's permission." Furthermore, since "Spain belongs to the Schengen Area, if you don't leave through Barajas, you do so through France or Portugal," Carlos Herraiz, a lawyer for the Association of Separated Parents, told this newspaper.

The crime of child abduction is "a growing problem that will continue to grow," warns Herraiz. "Last year, 1,321 abductions were reported, according to the Judiciary's report," explains Somoza. Furthermore, in 2024, all traces of 443 children in Spain were completely lost due to abduction, according to the Ministry of the Interior: more than one child a day.

"International abductions have almost tripled. There are more and more mixed marriages and the world is more global," Carmen Varela, vice president of the Association of Professionals Against International Child Abduction, told ABC. And the main victims are children, as their right to have a family and not be separated from it is violated.

"A mother took her three-year-old daughter when the police informed her that a process was underway to regulate visitation. After posting the missing person notice, she wrote to us: 'They were traveling around the world while she was writing books .' The mother is free to travel, but not to separate the child from her father, grandparents, and friends," NISDE reports. "On top of that, the child contracted an intestinal parasite in India, and the mother is being sought for fraud."

"We also have children in Ukraine, in an area where bombs fall every day , and the Russian occupation authorities are offering no information. How do you think that family is coping?" the spokesperson added. On the other hand, "the Polish authorities are not complying with their own court's return order, and we cannot recover two other children there."

However, Somoza tells the story of an 18-year-old young man who, after being taken away by his mother when he was six, returned to Spain this week to see his father : "He lived through hell. He found out what had happened to his life and wanted to return, but his file couldn't be issued because his mother wouldn't sign."

"I have had a court ruling in my possession prohibiting a minor from leaving Spanish territory, prohibiting the mother from leaving with him through Portugal, reaching Venezuela, and then moving on to Colombia. There, they issued a new ruling, even though the ruling had already been issued in Spain ," Herraiz says.

"We never found the necessary support . We've even denounced the administrative silence of the Ministry of Justice," Somoza protests. "The treatment of the father or mother is shameful. The authorities do nothing, and the justice system is very slow, so it's not justice," Herraiz says.

Herraiz believes the administration is "very lax" on these issues and that many people are "eating on it , wanting things to continue this way and for judges to be weaker." Varela adds that "very misleading information is being conveyed to the public. There is no shortage of laws to listen to minors ; the Constitutional Court cannot rule 24 hours a day, nor does a minister have to visit a child."

The Juana Rivas case , in which the child was scheduled to be handed over to the father, is a prime example. These experts describe it as "shameful" and "a spectacle." Somoza explains that "in other countries, there are protocols in which the child is prepared in a foster home for a week with psychological support." And he adds: "But in Spain, we are still in prehistoric times."

"Now there's a policy that if it's not talked about, it doesn't exist; it's conveyed to society that it's not a problem. And there's an explicit desire on the part of the government to hide it and not move it," says Somoza, who gives as an example that last week they reported four new cases to the Interior Ministry and they haven't made them public. He adds: "They make us believe there's security in everything, and there isn't security in anything. That's part of the ruse that's been set up in the country: telling society to stay calm because, if this happens, there are measures. But it's a lie: they're absurd and ineffective."

Child abduction is a crime committed more by women . According to the lawyer specializing in family law and international abduction, this is because "many go to countries that are very protective of the mother, such as Russia or Brazil. On top of that, they ask for a pension of, for example, 500 euros, which is enough for a family to live there."

"The most common allegation is 'serious risk,' which includes gender-based violence. In those cases, the judge assesses whether there is any risk. If so, if the country doesn't have the means, they won't grant restitution ."

Thus, she continues, "a mother who is a victim of gender-based violence must report it before taking the child . She must request custody and then, if she wants to return to her country, request transfer, which will be granted. The order in these cases is important: keeping the child and reporting it is not the same as reporting it and keeping the child."