History of Adoption Project
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A Monash University-led research team is calling for people to share their stories about adoption in an effort to better inform and influence future Australian public policy-makers on the issue.
The four-year national research project aims to develop a major history of adoption in Australia from the end of World War II to the present. Funded by the Australian Research Council, the innovative project will enable people to share their stories as sound files or written documents on a project website. Oral historians will also be made available across Australia to record people's stories.
The research team hope to receive stories from those involved with adoption, whether they were adoptees, mothers or fathers separated from their children by adoption, adoptive families, adoption workers, nurses, doctors and clerics.
"Australian society urgently needs to hear these collective voices. A balanced account of the historical impact of adoption is overdue, especially because of current calls for a reversal in government policy towards a positive endorsement of adoption and, conversely, because of current demands for a government apology to mothers and children separated by adoption," Professor Cuthbert the lead researcher said.
"Our research seeks to discover the distinctive ways adoption has reflected and shaped family ideals within Australian society and will fill a significant gap in the nation's self-understanding by explaining the historical factors driving adoption in Australia.
"We have already been inundated with enquiries and stories, many from people who have decided to speak about their experiences for the first time. The result of this project will be a diverse collection of voices from a number of different perspectives."
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People can share their stories by visiting the History of Adoption Project website or emailing historyofadoption@arts.monash.edu.au
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