Australians are still living with the repercussions of forced adoptions that occurred between the 1950s and 1980s. Unmarried mothers, mostly young women, were forced to give up their babies due to a societal attitude– supported by both authorities and the church– that deemed unwed women unfit to be mothers. The exact number of forced adoptions is difficult to determine, but an estimated 250,000 may have occurred. In 2012, former Prime Minister Julia Gillard delivered a national apology for the practice and its harm caused. However, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth recently stated that Australia would never forget the shameful chapter in its history. Over 100 individuals who experienced forced adoptions attended the parliament’s reflection on the ten-year anniversary of the national apology. Despite nearly $2 million in annual federal funding going towards support services for those affected by forced adoptions, including search services and access to counselling, some, like Robert Mauger, a victim of forced adoption, believe that little progress has been made since the apology towards harmonizing state laws to make it easier for adopted people to discover their birth parents.
Many Australians affected by forced adoptions seek answers.
