Advocating for Adult Adoptees
A group of UK adoptees, challenging attitudes to historic adoptions, striving to change the narrative on adoption.
Lived experience is at the heart of everything we do.
As adult adoptees, we’re all too often overlooked. Adoptees are infantilised, and many support services are aimed at adopted children and their families.
We’ve been busy campaigning to raise awareness of the lifelong trauma adoptees face and ensure appropriate support is available for all those involved.
JCHR Inquiry
We believe that there is still insufficient understanding of the impact of forced adoption on adoptees and their families.
We want to ensure that the cycle of trauma does not pass down to our families and future generations.
Our Formal Response
An apology will never make up for past events. We have laid out our 14 key recommendations, to set new standards and legislation to protect adoptees.
Our trauma must be acknowledged, and appropriate support offered.
Adoption’s Impact
The impact of being adopted, doesn’t magically disappear when you become an adult.
Different life events, such as relationships, careers, pregnancy, healthcare and menopause are greatly affected by our adoption experiences – yet this is completely ignored by society.
Advocate | Champion | Educate
We have come together to:
- ADVOCATE for adult adoptees
- CHAMPION adoptee rights
- EDUCATE from lived experience
We aim to do this by:
- Campaigning for rights and appropriate services for adult adoptees
- Creating resources to help adoptees understand, articulate and heal
- Helping non-adoptees understand the experiences and effects of adoption
Our partners
We’ve been blown away by the support we have received. We’ve worked closely with SAAM to ensure a joined-up approach to campaigning for adoptees. The Ollie Foundation has been instrumental in helping us get our concerns for adoptee mental health heard. Adoptees United have generously provided hosting for our website.
SAAM
Scottish Adult Adoptee Movement
SAAM changing the narrative on adoption in Scotland.
Awareness | Advocacy | Education | Support
The Ollie Foundation
Suicide Awareness
OLLIE is a charity dedicated to delivering suicide awareness, intervention and prevention training by empowering professionals and young adults in their own communities to lead suicide prevention activities.
Adoptees United USA
Adoptee Rights
Adoptees United is led by adoptees in the United States. Representing the interests of all adoptees, whether domestic, inter-country, transracial, or former foster youth.
Huge thank you to Adoptees United USA for hosting our website!
Our latest blog posts
Long Lost Family: an adoptee’s view
But there is a price for this help. Always a price. And that price is having your life put on show, having your complex, raw, unprocessed emotions filmed, Davina leaning in.
A sense of belonging
I can go back to the first house I was taken to when I was adopted, not far from where I now live. The house I grew up in is in the village where I still live today. This is part of my jigsaw.
A match made in hell for adoptees?
Let’s remember that we were children but children grow up into adults and those adults want answers as to who they are and where they came from. Coram IAC owes it to us and our next generation. We are not ornaments or souvenirs, we are people with a past history and an origin story that belongs to us.
Keep in touch!
We’re busy campaigning to ensure adult adoptee voices are heard, and better support processes are in place. We’ve got exciting plans, so sign up for our newsletter to stay informed of the latest developments.