Has your child been abducted? 

Are you concerned that your child might be abducted?

Did you and your child travel to Finland from abroad without the other parent or legal guardian’s knowledge?

Call our helpline: +358 45 8553055! From Monday through Friday the phone is answered by our employees and during the weekend it is answered by the association’s volunteers.

Help can also be received via chat! Individual help is received via the chat at www.apuaeroon.fi or via the chat function on our website. Chat on Mondays from 11:00 until 14:00. 

The following aspects constitute an international child abduction:

  • A child is taken to or retained in a foreign country without the consent of the person who has custody of the child
  • The failure to return a child from abroad at the end of a period of the exercise of the right of access to this child or at the end of any other temporary stay in a territory other than that where the custody is exercised
  • The child has been a permanent resident in Finland
  • The child is under the age of 16

Follow the steps below if your child has been abducted:

  1. Try to negotiate with the abductor, if you don’t succeed take the following measures.
  2. Which country has your child been abducted to? More than 90 countries have signed the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, also known as the Hague Abduction Convention. Review the list of countries; if your child has been abducted to one of the listed countries, contact the Ministry of Justice (switchboard: 02951 6001). They will help in regards to the return procedure.
  3. Has your child been abducted to a non-Hague Convention country? If so, contact the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (switchboard: 02952 6001). Contacting and negotiating with the abductor is something the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will help you with; finding a local lawyer and giving relevant information in regards to the country’s legislation is something the Ministry also helps you with.
  4. Call or go to the nearest police station and make a missing person report if you don’t know where you child is. This is something you can do regardless of the custody arrangements. Making a report of an offence committed by the abductor is also an option.
  5. If your child has been brought to Finland without your consent, contact your local authorities.

Do you fear that your child might be abducted?

Kaappausuhan tunnistaminen – in English

 

Do you need help in assessing the child abduction threat?

The following number can be called Monday through Friday: 044 2626 662; you can also send us an email to toimisto@kaapatutlapset.fi and we will help in assessing the child abduction threat you face.

We would like to develop the list further; your input is greatly appreciated. Any input you may have can be sent to toimisto@kaapatutlapset.fi.

Things to do in order to prevent child abduction.

The legislation includes various precautionary measures to minimize the threat of child abduction. Enough evidence of child endangerment or  the threat of child abduction is needed if you decide to apply for judicial precautionary measures.

Judicial precautionary measures include:

Supervised visitation; the child’s guardian can demand that any communication between the child and the child’s other parent be supervised.

A restraining order; you can ask for a restraining order to be put in place against the child’s other parent if you strongly believe that he or she would commit a crime, which in turn would jeopardise the child’s health, freedom and or status quo.

Emergency placements can be considered in unexpected situations if there are reasonable grounds in suspecting child endangerment or child abduction.

Temporary but urgent precautionary measures are applicable in acute situations!

Interim orders in regards to custody, residence or visitation can be made if the child is threatened by an illegal action or when the purpose is to not return the child to their guardian, such as his or her removal from the country of residence.

Other measures to consider when protecting a child.

Informing the day-care centre, the childminder or the school that the child must not be handed over to anyone but you or someone authorized by you.

Filing a police report  and asking for an indication in the passport register is something you can do if you suspect a threat of child abduction.

Reporting a child abduction threat and asking for an indication in the passport register is something you can do if you suspect a threat of child abduction.

Contacting the border guard  or airport police is also an option.

Informing the nearest Finnish Embassy in the country of destination about a possible child abduction if you have not given your permission in regards to issuing a visa or another travel document to the country in question.

You can report an offence to the police.

Making a report of an offence to the police  is something you can do.

If you do not know your child’s exact whereabouts, contacting the police and filing a missing person report is an option you have.

More about precautionary measures can be read from the information section.

An information package regarding international child abduction has been compiled by the Ministry of Justice as a first step for parents and as a guide for authorities. The information package on child abductions can be read on the oikeus.fi website.

The organisation Kaapatut Lapset ry helps and supports in difficult situations!

Helping and supporting children who are and who have been in different international child abduction situations, who have been threatened to be abducted and who have been in or who currently are in a difficult international custody dispute. Defending their basic human rights are important to us!

The information centre of the non-governmental organisation is called Toivon Talo. We inform, we give advice to parents, we arrange empowering and invigorating activities for the entire family and we coordinate different peer support groups. (Read more about peer support).

Help can also be received via the frequently asked questions on our website.

Contact information:

Kaapatut Lapset ry / Toivon Talo

Malmin Kauppatie 26, 4. krs.
00700 Helsinki

toimisto@kaapatutlapset.fi

+358 45 8553055

Contact us by filling out this form

Name
Phone number
Email
Message
Anna kaksi sattumanvaraista numeroa. (esim. 18)

Don’t be alone with your worries! We’ll help you!

Links and contacts

This page contains the contact details for the Finnish authorities and different foreign organisations; the main goal for these organisations is to help children. If you for example need help contacting a lawyer in Finland, contacting a legal aid office, the Finnish Bar Association or Kaapatut Lapset will get you a step further.

Authorities and Legal Aid

Ministry of Justice
Unit for International Judicial Assistance
PL 25 00023 Valtioneuvosto
Tel. (02) 951 6001
Fax (09) 1606 7524
Email: oikeusministerio(at)om.fi

Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Legal Service, Unit for Consular Assistance
PL 415, 00023 Valtioneuvosto
Tel. (09) 160 05
Fax (09) 1605 5755
Email: kirjaamo.um(at)formin.fi

The National Bureau of Investigation (Keskusrikospolisi)
Rikostietopalvelu
PL 285, 01301 Vantaa
Tel. 071 878 0141
Faksi 071 878 6536
Email: kirjaamo.keskusrikospoliisi(at)poliisi.fi

Find the contact information of the nearest police station

Online Police Report
Filing a police report which does not require immediate action from the police, such as petty crimes, is something you can do online.

Restraining Order
The Act on Restraining Orders is meant to prevent crimes and make it easier to intervene in case of harassment. A restraining order helps in protecting your freedom, peace of mind, health and life from a person or people who wants to do you harm. It’s also possible to place a restraining order on someone who lives at the same address as you.

A lawyer can be found via the Finnish Bar Association’s search engine. You can limit your search by area of expertise by selecting “Family law, international”.

Public Legal Aid Offices
Legal aid can be received by phone: 0100 86200

Find a lawyer throughout the EU

Parental Child Abduction lawyers in Europe

Cross-Border Family Mediators
Mediators that specialise in child abductions

European e-Justice Portal
Answers on cross-border judicial questions

The European Parliament’s Coordinator on Children’s Rights
The Coordinator seeks to help people experiencing child abductions and other cross-border family disputes.

Supervised Visitation

Information regarding supervised visitations can be found on the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare’s (Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitos, THL) website.

Locations in the Apuaeroon.fi service

Information on child welfare.

Lastensuojelu.info
Information in different languages:
Finnish, simple Finnish, English, Swedish, French, Russian, Somali, Arabic, Persian and Kurdish.

The Child Protection Handbook (Lastensuojelun käsikirja, not available in the English language).
The Child Protection Handbook is meant to help professionals who work in child welfare to develop their skills and to develop client services.

Crisis Counselling

Child abduction or the threat of child abduction is always mentally-challenging. It’s important to remember to take care of one’s mental wellbeing and one’s family’s needs. Apart from Kaapatut Lapset ry, help and support is also given from the following organisations:

SOS Crisis Centre
(09) 4135 0510
sos-keskus@mieli.fi
Maistraatinportti 4 A, 4. krs, 00240 Helsinki

Mieli Mental Health Finland (Mieli ry, formerly The Finnish Association for Mental Health)

Victim Support Finland (Rikosuhripäivystys, RIKU)
The aim of Victim Support Finland is to improve the position of victims of crime, their loved ones and key witnesses in crime cases e.g., by producing low threshold support and guidance services.

CRISIS HELPLINES:

The Crisis Helpline’s phone number (in Finnish) 09 2525 0113 is open daily

The Crisis Helplines phone number in Swedish (Kristelefon): 09 2525 0112
Monday and Wednesday                               16.00 – 20.00
Tuesday, Thursday and Friday                    9 and 13.

The Swedish and Arabic helplines offer help in English, too.

The Crisis Helpline’s phone number in Arabic: 09 2525 0113
Monday and Tuesday                                     11 – 15
Wednesday                                                         13 – 16, 17 – 21
Thursday                                                              10 – 15

Both the Swedish and Arabic helplines offer services in English.

More information regarding the Crisis Helplines of Mieli Mental Health Finland

24-hour social services in your municipality (e.g., urgent child welfare issues) and other social and healthcare authorities.

The Mannerheim League for Child Welfare (MLL)

Telephone counselling for children and youths: 116 111

Monday – Friday                                               14 – 20

Saturday – Sunday                                          17 – 20

The Federation of Mother and Child Homes and Shelters (Ensi- ja turvakotien liitto)
Asemamiehenkatu 4 A, 7. krs
00520 Helsinki
Tel. (09) 4542 440
Fax (09) 4542 4430
Email addresses: toimisto(at)ensijaturvakotienliitto.fi

More information regarding the mother and child shelters and where the nearest shelter is located

Online Shelter

Organizations in different countries

Missing Children Europe

MiKK https://www.mikk-ev.de/ (Cross Border Family Mediation)

Belgium: Child Focus; www.childfocus.de, info@childficus.de

Bulgaria; Centre Nadja, www.centrenadja.com, centrenadja@adv.bg

Spain: Fundación ANAR, www.anar.org

The Netherlands: Centrum Internationale Kinderontvoering; www.kinderontvoering.org, info@kinderontvoering.org

Ireland: Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; www.ispcc.ie, info@ispcc.ie

United Kingdom: Missing People; www.missingpeople.org.uk

Italy: SOS Il Telefono Azzurro; www.azzurro.it

Austria: Rat auf Draht; www.rataufdraht.at, 147@rataufdrach.at

Japan: Japan Children’s Rights Network; http://crnjapan.net

Canada: Missing Children Society of Canada and Missing Children’s Network; https://mcsc.ca, www.missingchildrensnetwork.ngo

Greece: The Smile of the Child; www.hamogelo.gr, info@hamogelo.gr

Croatia: CNZD; www.cnzd.org, info@cnzd.org

Cyprus: Consortium: SPAVO and Hope for Children; www.domviolence.org.cy, info@domviolence.org.cy, www.uncrcpc.org, info@uncrcpc.org

Latvia: Bezvests; www.bezvests.lv, info@bezvests.lv

Lithuania: Missing Persons’ Families Support Centre; www.missing.lt, centras@missing.lt

Portugal: Instituto de Apoio à Criança (IAC) and Associação Portuguesa e Crianças Desaparecidas (APCD); www.iacrianca.pt, iac-seda@iacrianca.pt, https://apcd.pt/web/, apsicologico@ap-cd.pt

Poland: ITAKA; www.itaka.org

France: Enfants Disparus Droit d’Enfance, APEV, La Mouette; www.droitdenfance.org, www.apev.org, contact@apev.org, www.la-mouette.fr, la.mouette@orange.fr

Romania: Salvati Copiii; www.salvaticopiii.ro, secretariat@salvaticopiii.ro

Sweden: Facebook group

Germany and France: Missing Children; www.kinder-nach-hause.de

Germany: Weisser Ring and Initiative Vermisste Kinder; www.weisser-ring.de, info@weisser-ring.de,www.vermisste-kinder.de, info@vermisste-kinder.de

Serbia: Astra; www.astra.rs, sos@astra.rs

Slovakia: Linka detskej istoty, n. o.; www.ldi.sk, info@ldi.sk

Switzerland: Service Social International (Suisse) and Missing Children Switzerland; www.ssiss.ch, www.missingchildren.ch, contact@missingchildren.ch

Czech Republic: Cesta z krize, z. ú; www.cestazkrize.net

Ukraine: NGO Magnolia; www.magnolia.org.ua, tsr@magnolia-tv.com

Hungary: Kék Vonal; www.kek-vonal.hu, info@kek-vonal.hu

The United States of America: The Committee for Missing Children, Inc and the Polly Klaas Foundation; https://findthekids.org, https://www.pollyklaas.org

Other useful websites in English are listed below!

If you need more information about child abduction or family law, the links below may be of use to you and if you need information on a certain country, contacting the country’s embassy may be the next best thing.