Loading...
Past adoption practices: Implications for current interventions
Higgins, Daryl
Higgins, Daryl
Citations
Altmetric:
Author
Abstract
During the mid to late twentieth century (1940s to 1980s), it was common practice for babies of unwed mothers to be adopted by married couples. Many of the infants were taken from their mothers at childbirth as a result of extreme pressure and coercion that they experienced from family, social workers and hospital staff. The practices sometimes extended to 'undeserving' married women. The adoptions that occurred in this way have been termed 'forced adoptions'. Not all of the forced removals or separations between parents and children resulted in adoption; some children grew up in institutions. It has now been recognised that t he separation of a child from its mother in this manner was neither moral nor legal (Gillard, 2013) - a practice for which the nation has offered its apology (Mushin, 2014). Many of the practices have similarities with those to which Indigenous children of the Stolen Generations were subjected, with children forcibly removed from their families under acts of parliament and sent either to institutions or adopted by non-Indigenous families (see article on page 12 for discussion of this aspect of forced adoption practices in Australia).
Keywords
Date
2014
Type
Journal article
Journal
Book
Volume
36
Issue
4
Page Range
8-11
Article Number
ACU Department
Institute of Child Protection Studies
Faculty of Education and Arts
Faculty of Education and Arts
Collections
Relation URI
DOI
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
File Access
Controlled