In July, 2018, The Senate of Canada released a report on the Child Adoption Practices in\u00a0 Canada during the 2 decades immediately following World War 2. The report, prepared by the Committee \u00a0on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, describes how \u201cThe Shame Is Ours\u201d by reassigning\u00a0 the shame, previously directed to unmarried\u00a0 women who gave birth\u00a0 to a child, to\u00a0 practices governing adoption in Canada \u00a0at that time.<\/p>\n
Indeed, the period\u00a0 between 1945 and 1965 has been described \u00a0as a shameful period in \u00a0Canadian history when\u00a0 Human Rights may have been violated. The social ideology of the time\u00a0 supported and promoted\u00a0 the \u00a0traditional nuclear family \u00a0to the extent that vulnerable\u00a0 populations\u00a0 were\u00a0 overlooked, scorned at,\u00a0 and sometimes abused.\u00a0 Within this context, much shame was \u00a0directed at\u00a0 any woman who became pregnant outside of marriage. Often she was abandoned by her family and friends and had no choice but admission to a home for unwed mothers\u00a0 in which punishment, rather than compassion was the order of the day. In order to protect her and her family from ongoing shame, her circumstance and whereabouts must be kept secret. There should be no contact with family or friends. Within the institution and during labour and delivery\u00a0 she was treated with disrespect and in some cases with cruelty and abuse.\u00a0 There was no choice but to \u201dsurrender\u201d her baby for adoption. The opportunity to plan her baby\u2019s adoption , or even to provide input in the adoption plan was not extended to her. Neither was she given the opportunity of seeing her baby. She was told to forget her baby!<\/p>\n
The\u00a0 shame and need for secrecy did not end there. Banished from the entire experience, the birth father\u2019s name\u00a0 was frequently not on the child\u2019s birth certificate and the child was branded \u201cillegitimate \u201c.\u00a0 The sealing of adoption records was thought to protect the child\u00a0 from \u00a0public knowledge of his adoptive status which was thought to have a detrimental effect on his development.<\/p>\n
And now, 50+ \u00a0years later, the Committee\u2019s findings point up the need for an apology to members of the adoption network whose lives have been negatively impacted by these shameful adoption practices. It has been found that mothers who were forced to surrender their babies at that time have experienced lifelong unresolved grief, emptiness and longing for the child they were forced to surrender. Approximately 1\/3 of the mothers did not have further children and depression was a frequent finding. The negative impact of sealed records on adoptees has been very well documented. This committee found that adoptees feel their right to their personal information has\u00a0 been violated and that they have been deprived of their identity and of knowing who they are.\u00a0 A feeling of having been abandoned was a frequent finding among this group.<\/p>\n
By the mid sixties in Canada, adoption practices began to change. The Canada Assistance Plan allocated support to homes for unwed mothers, to adoption agencies and for casework services to be provided to parties to an adoption.\u00a0 From that time until today, mothers are not forced to place their baby on adoption but are assisted in exploring all options including parenting their baby with the help of resources and assistance programs available to them. Birth fathers are very much encouraged to participate in counselling and both parents are required to obtain legal representation before voluntarily signing adoption consents. In the majority of cases in which birth parents choose adoption for their child, their adoption plan includes an openness agreement, signed by birth and adoptive parents specifying ongoing contact with the adoptive family they have chosen for their child. Major steps towards universal opening of adoption records were legislated \u00a0in Ontario by the 2008 Adoption Information Disclosure Act.\u00a0 In the past, when adoption was kept secret, the special role requirements of adoptive parents were not recognized.\u00a0 In order to better understand the to meet the special needs of adopted children, adoptive applicants are now required to complete pre service training in preparation \u00a0for adoptive parenthood.<\/p>\n
A similar study was carried out in Australia with very similar results of similar adoption practices and closed adoption records. As with the Committee\u2019s report, a public apology to the parties so affected was recommended.\u00a0 However, as stated in the report, an apology must provide reparation through action.<\/p>\n
In addition to and in support of a public apology, the Committee recommends a fund to support training programs for professional counsellors \u00a0that is appropriate to the needs of individuals affected by past adoption practices\u00a0 and \u00a0the provision of counselling services\u00a0 to mothers and adoptees.<\/p>\n
We have come a long way in recognizing and serving the needs of parties to adoption.\u00a0 Let\u2019s not stop here.<\/p>\n
In July, 2018, The Senate of Canada released a report on the Child Adoption Practices in\u00a0 Canada during the 2 decades immediately following World War 2. The report, prepared by the Committee \u00a0on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, describes how \u201cThe Shame Is Ours\u201d by reassigning\u00a0 the shame, previously directed to unmarried\u00a0 women who gave […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n