International
Equivalents to "Valerie's Law" outside Ireland ?
Information on legislation and practices beyond Ireland for children in the unfortunate situation of having one parent kill the other is limited.
A country may not need a specific law but it might be standard practice to remove or suspend guardianship rights from a parent who has killed the other parent.
Accessing and interpreting these is difficult due to language barriers and they may not be truly equivalent due to differing approaches to the law in this area in other jurisdictions.
Further information from researchers in this area is welcome.
England and Wales:
In May 2024, England Wales introduced "Jade's Law" to automatically suspend Parental Responsibility rights of a parent guilty of killing the other parent. Further info.
Note: In the UK there was a "Valerie's Law" petition to make specialist training mandatory for all police and other government agencies that support black women and girls affected by domestic abuse. This followed the murders in March 2014 of Valerie Forde and her one-year-old daughter Jahzara by Valerie's ex-partner.
Argentina:
Argentina adopted a law in 2017 removing parental authority from persons who are found guilty in a court of law of committing aggravated homicide associated with femicide, or inflicting injuries and sexual abuse on their children.
Israel:
In December 2020 the Israeli parliament or Knesset passed a law removing custody from a parent who attempted to murder or rape family members.
Italy:
In February 2018, the Government of Italy adopted a law on the protection of minors orphaned by domestic violence (Orfani Speciali ), which ensures that such minors have free access to legal aid and psychological assistance. When it comes to appointing guardians, the law gives priority to other relatives and family members.