Narkis Golan spent years fighting to keep her son from being sent back to Italy, where her abusive husband lives. She died in October, after the case made it to the Supreme Court, and now a federal judge is set to rule on whether to send the 6-year-old boy back to his home country.

Domestic violence experts and advocates say the case is a window into a reality experienced by mothers around the world who flee abusive partners and then get accused of kidnapping under the child abduction clauses of The Hague Convention. Prior to her death, Golan was part of a movement calling for changes to protect domestic violence victims.