The POAM project is a collaborative research project which explores the intersection between domestic violence and international parental child abduction within the European Union. The project is concerned with the protection of abducting mothers who have been involved in return proceedings under the 1980 Hague Abduction Convention and the Brussels IIa Regulation, in circumstances where the child abduction had been motivated by acts of domestic violence from the left-behind father.  POAM examines the usefulness of the Protection Measures Regulation and the European Protection Order Directive in the context of such return proceedings. Launched on 1 January 2019, the POAM project is led by the University of Aberdeen (Dr Katarina Trimmings) and involves further three partner institutions – the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich (Professor Anatol Dutta), the Milano-Bicocca University (Professor Costanza Honorati) and the University of Osijek (Professor Mirela Župan).

We welcome you to explore this website to learn more about the POAM project, our current activities and future plans.