Last year, 74 children were abducted from Norway and shipped abroad. This is a sharp increase from the year before, and at the same level as 2013.
Figures from the government show a steady increase in child abduction since data-gathering began in 2005. The year 2013 previously held the record for the amount of child abductions with 74 children abducted. The following years showed the numbers decreasing to 60 or below. By 2016, 60 children in 35 different cases were illegally taken out of Norway by one of their parents
Child abduction is something that happens when children under the joint care of the parents are taken abroad by one parent without the knowledge or permission of the other. A child may also be illegally detained after a legal stay abroad, such as a holiday or a social gathering.
Recently, two children had to be picked up by the Norwegian Child Welfare in Malaysia after the mother ran away with them after taking them in 2016.
Of the 74 children considered abducted last year, 8 children were taken to Poland, putting them on the lead. Pakistan, Thailand, France, and Iceland were the countries that were the second most frequent countries with around three children taken to each.
Since 2005, 677 children have been abducted from Norway. Most children have been taken to Sweden (40), United Kingdom (57), and many have also been taken to the United States (32). There have been 25 children taken to Denmark without both parents giving consent, but none from last year.
During the same period, children have also been abducted and sent into Norway for a total of 208 different cases.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
