The Mother
We know you have suffered enduring effects… For the loss, the grief, the disempowerment, the stigmatisation and the guilt, we say sorry.[Extract from Australian Federal Government Apology to victims of Forced Adoption 2013]
Our experience with mothers tells us that:
- The grief of losing a child to adoption is cumulative and lifelong
- Separation from your child can be experienced as traumatic
- The associated shame is pervasive
- Secrecy makes the loss unspeakable and silent
- The mothers may carry guilt that can debilitate and immobilise