Other People's Children: Adoption in Australia (original) (raw)
Related papers
2011
Arrangements for the care of children which are similar to what we now know as adoption have existed in many countries for hundreds of years. In the twentieth century, in countries like Australia, adoption was formalised into a legal and permanent transfer of a child from one family to another. In the twenty-first century, however, many Australians are proud of the fact that Australia now has significantly lower rates of adoption, both local and international, than countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom. We see this as an important indicator of social progress.
Re-writing Australia's history of forced adoption
2012
A long-awaited Senate Committee report will tomorrow reveal whether the Commonwealth's policies and practices played a role in coercing young, unwed Australian women to give up their newborn babies for adoption. The practice, known more recently as forced adoption, was reportedly common in Australia between the 1950s and 1980s, with authorities failing to gain free and informed consent from thousands of young, unwed mothers before their newborns were removed. The Senate Inquiry received hundreds of submissions, including many personal accounts of coercion, trauma and ongoing mental health problems associated with forced adoption. Long and painful history Legally, adoption was a confidential, irrevocable process where "unwanted" babies were placed predominantly with childless couples, relieving the state of the burden of their care. Close to 200,000 children have been adopted since the first Australian legislation facilitating adoption was enacted in 1896. By mid-20th century, adoption was increasingly seen as western society's answer to several emerging social problemsillegitimate children, single motherhood and infertility. From the 1950s, babies of unmarried women were labelled illegitimate and, as such, the women were deemed "unfit" to mother. These young women could best serve society and themselves, they were told, if they relinquished their child for adoption. Then they could "get on" with their lives. It seems that religious and welfare bodies agreed that the solution to illegitimate babies was adoption by a married woman who was "fit" to mother. From the 1950s to the 1970s, these organisations established homes across Australian to support and protect young, single pregnant women. But many of these women now have revealed the suffering they experienced at the hands of these institutions.
Journal of Historical Sociology, 2010
This paper brings historical perspectives to bear on the ambivalent and contradictory position of adoption in Australian public policy. It examines the divergent histories of Australian domestic and intercountry adoption (ICA) since the mid-1970s and the impact of these histories on adoption policy in Australia. It identifies tendencies in contemporary ICA to repeat elements of pre-reform era domestic adoption. In particular, it is argued that the resistance of ICA to the move to openness in local adoption has been an unacknowledged driver of ICA for many Australian families. We offer corrective readings of the rise of ICA in relation to domestic adoption and conclude by offering alternatives for adoption policy which better align the two kinds of adoption, focusing on the needs of children, as distinct from the desires of adults.
Other People's Children
Determining the best interests of children is often difficult due to the competing needs of children and parents. Unfortunately, however, an adultorientated approach to determining best interests often prevails . One example of this occurs when researchers or political commentators claim that heterosexual people are best suited to raising children, and where non-heterosexual people are depicted as incapable or inappropriate parents . Several things happen when such claims to children's 'best interests' are made: First, children's voices and opinions are typically ignored, and second, non-heterosexual parents may feel forced to make claims to 'normality' in order to justify their capacity as parents . Such claims can, unfortunately, serve to perpetuate the notion that adults always know what is best for children.
A Qualitative Exploration of the Adult Intercountry Adoptee Experience in Australia
Adoption Quarterly, 2018
Using a post-structuralist narrative approach, this article focuses on insights gained from a qualitative study with 11 Australian intercountry adult adoptees with particular reference to their adoption experiences and post-adoption support needs. From thematic analysis, six interrelated, overlapping themes are reported. These are as follows: connecting to the past, the ambiguous self, the experience of racism, being grateful, safe and unsafe zones, and post-adoption support needs. Key findings relate to the Australian experience of unmet need and support the importance of the adoptee voice in determining appropriate support.
Apologies for Forced Adoption Practices: Implications for Contemporary Intercountry Adoption
Australian Social Work, 2013
2012 marks historic events in the practice of adoption in Australia. Government focus is on the formulation of apologies to those people affected by past forced adoption practices. A critical reflection on these and other Australian apologies, highlight assumptions that differentiate past domestic adoption practices from past and contemporary practice in intercountry adoption. The importance of social work, founded in the values of social justice and human rights, to ensuring the same practice standards apply to all people who give birth to children regardless of where they live is highlighted. Expanding knowledge on intercountry adoption indicates that Australia should prepare for another apology.