With special guest:
- Rebecca Kotz
The Global Missing Children’s Network (GMCN) is a network of 22 partner agencies co-chaired by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC). Participating countries range from Albania to the USA. The global campaign of this network is called Help Bring Them Home and it is being led by the AFP.
May 25, International Missing Children’s Day, is the day when people in Australia and around the world commemorate the missing children who have found their way home, the victims who did not come back and the continuing efforts to find those still missing.
We are privileged today to welcome as our special guest, Rebecca Kotz from the AFP.
Rebecca tells us that an estimated 35,000 people are reported missing each year in Australia. The real number of missing people is undoubtedly even higher and young people account for more than half of all missing persons. On average more than two young people under the age of 18 go missing every hour.
The majority of the children who are abducted internationally from Australia are taken by one of the parents not by a stranger and behind every one of these abductions there is the story of a heartbroken parent and a child suffering abuse.
In today’s program one of our Dads, Ken Thompson who is the Founder of COPAC (Coalition of Parents of Abducted Children), asks the questions that need to be answered. What will the AFP and the State Police do when abduction is reported? What is the role of Interpol? What is the Hague convention? What are the danger signs? What should a parent do if abduction is a possibility and what should you do if the abduction has already occurred?
Fortunately international child abduction is gaining a higher profile in Australia and around the world. This week Ken Thompson was interviewed on Channel 9 Mornings program and other stories are being prepared as Dads on the Air goes to air. With this increasing awareness comes the responsibility on all of us to eradicate this insidious form of child abuse. A good place to start is by listening to this week’s episode.
Rebecca Kotz
Rebecca Kotz is the National Missing Persons Coordination Centre Team Leader and the spokesperson for the AFP on issues relating to International Missing Children’s Day. Rebecca has assisted many parents who confront this situation of their flesh and blood going missing and knows firsthand how this affects children and parents.