Adoptee Rights Australia (ARA) Inc. and their membership support the mothers of this nation in their decades long quest to achieve justice. We are aligned in their rightful request that all state jurisdictions remove the statute of limitations which prevent adopted adults and their mothers from accessing redress and compensatory mechanisms.
Numerous Australian state and federal formal apologies, along with parliamentary inquiries, have acknowledged the illegal removal of newborns from their mothers during the forced adoption era. Adopted children now adults were denied their birthright to remain with their mother. Adoptees were and still are subject to Draconian adoption legislation that breaches our human and civil rights as children and adults.
According to ARA President, Peter Capomolla Moore:
“Many mothers took decades to comprehend or have still not come to comprehend what was done to them, the intergenerational loss of a child, grandchildren & great grandchildren, their child now adult who lost families, the intergenerational losses of their children and their children’s children forever.”
“Many Adoptees also take decades to realise the consequences of adoption on their lives, their identity and that of their children, etc. How many 18 year olds could possibly be informed enough of the ongoing effects of adoption on their lives to mount a successful legal challenge within three years?”
“Many other adoptees still do not know of their adoptive status, hidden by the archaic adoption acts designed to maintain secrecy. Commercial Home DNA test kits are now unraveling many of these hidden secrets.
“Some like myself who did not know for 59 years, 5 years later I’m still processing its effects.”
“Governments of Australia have a duty of care to inform all adopted people of their adoptive status in a supportive and controlled environment: not via DNA, not from a disgruntled sibling or cousin, not from an ex-partner as a final act to inflict the last blow as they walk out the door. The United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child, which Australia ratified in 1990, clearly states this obligation at Articles 7 and 8.”
Adoption has caused the permanent life long rupture of hundreds of thousands of mother/newborn relationships, burdening generations of adopted Australians with the irreparable loss of intergenerational family connection. With the cascade of traumatic pre-verbal events, many adoptees failed to achieve the vital attachment milestones which form the foundation to one’s humanity and emotional wellbeing. The impact of this disenfranchised grief, loss, complex trauma, and the loss of identity and culture affects the victim-survivors throughout their lives, impacting upon health, mental wellbeing and relationships.
Adopted people are over-represented in suicide, suicide attempts, alcoholism, substance abuse, homelessness, and incarceration.
Compensation and redress mechanisms are essential in providing survivors with validation and a sense of acknowledgement for the harms that were wrongfully inflicted on them.
By removing the statute of limitations, adoption survivors will finally be afforded the right to claim compensation for the harms inflicted by governments and former adoptive institutions. The opportunity for mothers and adopted adults to participate in truth telling before a court will provide an alignment with other survivor groups who have recently benefited from the removal of the statute of limitations.
Contact information:
For further information, please contact Adoptee Rights Australia (ARA) Inc at [email protected] or phone contact for media: 0416 146 294
