In a letter responding to the recent announcement that forced adoption survivors will receive a full apology from the UK government, a former adoption social worker insists that responsibility extends far beyond Whitehall. Christine Hayes, who worked as an adoption social worker during the 1960s and 1970s, recalls the deep trauma endured by birth parents when their babies were removed for adoption. She argues that parents, charities, and mother-and-baby homes must also acknowledge their role.
The Role of Families and Society
Hayes writes that young women and girls who became pregnant outside marriage were often told by their parents that they had brought shame on the family. They were instructed to go away and not return until the baby was no longer with them. This was the societal norm at the time, and children's charities and mother-and-baby homes were complicit in carrying out what society requested.
Post-2005 Support and Healing
When the government introduced adoption support services regulations in 2005, counselling and support became available for those who had suffered. Hayes and her colleagues established weekend workshops for adoptees, birth mothers, and birth fathers. For many, it was the first time they met others in similar situations. These workshops helped dispel adoptees' beliefs that their birth parents had not loved them or had rejected them, and the relief was palpable. Similarly, birth parents received help with long-lasting shame and subsequent mental health issues.
A Call for Collective Responsibility
Hayes concludes that a government apology alone is insufficient. Everyone involved—society, families, agencies, and mother-and-baby homes—must take responsibility for the decisions that led to forced adoptions.
