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Grave risk
Decision-makers need to understand how domestic violence can create physical or psychological danger for a child.
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FILM & ADVOCACY
Hague Convention Reform
Through REUNITED, White Ribbon USA brings the experiences of domestic violence survivors and their children into the conversation about international family separation.
REUNITED: a story of seeking safety
REUNITED is based on the story of a young mother who came to the United States with her child, received asylum under a domestic violence protection program, and then became a respondent in a Hague Convention case in Los Angeles.
In the project’s original synopsis, her former husband—the person she had fled—petitioned for the child’s return and won the case. The film follows the conflict between the family’s search for safety and the order to return the child to the place of habitual residence.
Original REUNITED film artwork. View full size
What the project set out to do
The original film proposal identified two goals:
- Bring the story to film festivals in the United States and Europe.
- Advocate for Hague Convention reform addressing domestic violence and the safety of survivors and children.
The presentation also pointed to the Hague Domestic Violence Project and media coverage as background for the advocacy. These are the aims and references recorded in the original proposal, rather than a statement of current festival participation or completed reforms.
The people behind the film
Story and advocacy by Veronika Mudra. Directed by Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri. Written by Jamie Donoughue. Produced by Sheila Shah and GK Reid. Executive producer Paula Schwarz.
Read the filmmakers’ biographies
Original presentation
Explore the source pages behind the film proposal. Each opens at full size.
Film advocacy and family separation
A public campaign for Hague Convention reform and survivor safety.
REUNITED helps people understand what happens when a protective parent escapes domestic violence, seeks safety across borders, and then faces an international child-return process.
The work connects domestic violence, immigrant survivors, grave-risk analysis, and the safety of children and protective parents in language civic audiences can understand.
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Protective parents
A parent fleeing abuse may be acting to protect a child, not trying to evade accountability or erase family ties.
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Public education
Film and civic advocacy make a complex international legal issue legible to communities, courts, and partners.
Why it matters
Domestic violence belongs in the safety analysis.
A return process can affect both the child and the parent trying to keep that child safe. White Ribbon USA advocacy asks courts and civic audiences to recognize coercive control, retaliation, threats, immigration vulnerability, and the real danger families may face when abuse is present.
Continue
Meet the REUNITED film production team.
Directors, writers, producers, and advocacy partners bring the REUNITED project to life.
Public education and advocacy only. For legal advice, consult a qualified attorney.
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