A lot is said about the stolen generation and Mr Rudd's apology but this has largely gone unrecognised. A very sad blight on our state's history. I hope the acknowledgement brings comfort to those who've suffered such unimaginable trauma.
Tears as state says sorry for thousands of forced adoptions
Date October 26, 2012
Henrietta Cook
WHEN Joy O'Connor fell pregnant at 18 she was told the only decent thing she could do was give up her baby for adoption.
She had no family support, had been deserted by her boyfriend, sacked from her job and ended up living in a home for unmarried women in South Melbourne.
''They told me that they would take me in and look after me on condition I gave up my child for adoption,'' she said.
''I remember the matron saying to me, 'You will have your baby in the street and it will die, do you want that on your conscience?' ''
Ms O'Connor was among more than 300 people who flocked to Spring Street yesterday and wept alongside politicians as the Victorian Parliament apologised to mothers, children and families who were traumatised by forced adoption practices.
In a joint parliamentary sitting, Premier Ted Baillieu apologised for the ''trauma, pain and loss'' experienced by victims of past adoption practices that forcibly removed at least 19,000 Victorian children from their mothers.
''To the mothers and fathers who were denied the opportunity to love and care for your children, and for the pain and trauma you experienced, we are deeply sorry,'' Mr Baillieu said.
''For the sons and daughters for whom adoption meant continual anxiety, uncertainty and the deprivation of a natural family connection, we offer our sincere apology.''
The apology follows an inquiry by the federal Senate this year that found up to 250,000 babies were relinquished for adoption between the 1950s and 1970s, most from young, unmarried women.
Mr Baillieu said the hurt, fear and pain experienced by victims of forced adoption was ongoing and unfair.
''The blame is heartbreaking and the resentment is a burden of unspeakable hardship … the basis of these actions remains, even in the most benign light, wrong, disgraceful, ill conceived and in some cases illegal.''
Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews said a generation of sons and daughters had been denied their mothers. ''These are women who were given sleeping pills in the safety of a local doctor's clinic and woke up in a secure institution for unwed mothers,'' he said.
''These are women who gave birth while tied to a bed, who had sheets and pillows fixed to their face so they never saw their baby.'' Cries of joy spilled from the packed public gallery as Minister for Women's Affairs Mary Wooldridge announced changes to the Adoption Act that would let birth mothers access identifying information about their adopted adult sons and daughters. Ms Wooldridge also announced more counselling and support services.
The joint sitting of Parliament also heard speeches by state Greens leader Greg Barber, Nationals leader Peter Ryan and Pascoe Vale MP Christine Campbell.
The apology was also screened to hundreds more people seated at Queen's Hall and the Windsor Hotel. Almost 1000 children's shoes lined the steps of Parliament in recognition of adopted children.
Ms O'Connor said the apology was surreal and applauded the state government's decision to amend the Adoption Act to let birth mothers access information about their children.
But she said nothing would ever heal the pain of having her daughter taken away.
When she was rushed to Queen Victoria Hospital with labour pains in August 1971 she said she had never felt so alone.
She was placed in a bed in the centre of a ward with 10 other women.
''The nurse closed the curtains around me and a matron came and ripped them open and said, 'What's wrong with you, you don't need the curtains closed.' There was no compassion.''
She begged the nurses to tell her whether she had given birth to a boy or a girl. ''I was lying on the delivery table and they held her down so I could see her,'' she said. ''For a brief two seconds I saw her and then she was gone.''
She spent three years on Valium to deal with trauma of losing her daughter and made a decision never to get married until she was past childbearing age. Ms O'Connor was reunited with her daughter 23 years later and said they now have a wonderful relationship, but said, ''When you grow up with a child you know so much about them. I've missed all that.''
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/tears-as-state-says-sorry-for-thousands-of-forced-adoptions-20121025-28841.html#ixzz2AM26r6MZ
Tears as state says sorry for thousands of forced adoptions
Date October 26, 2012
Henrietta Cook
WHEN Joy O'Connor fell pregnant at 18 she was told the only decent thing she could do was give up her baby for adoption.
She had no family support, had been deserted by her boyfriend, sacked from her job and ended up living in a home for unmarried women in South Melbourne.
''They told me that they would take me in and look after me on condition I gave up my child for adoption,'' she said.
''I remember the matron saying to me, 'You will have your baby in the street and it will die, do you want that on your conscience?' ''
Ms O'Connor was among more than 300 people who flocked to Spring Street yesterday and wept alongside politicians as the Victorian Parliament apologised to mothers, children and families who were traumatised by forced adoption practices.
In a joint parliamentary sitting, Premier Ted Baillieu apologised for the ''trauma, pain and loss'' experienced by victims of past adoption practices that forcibly removed at least 19,000 Victorian children from their mothers.
''To the mothers and fathers who were denied the opportunity to love and care for your children, and for the pain and trauma you experienced, we are deeply sorry,'' Mr Baillieu said.
''For the sons and daughters for whom adoption meant continual anxiety, uncertainty and the deprivation of a natural family connection, we offer our sincere apology.''
The apology follows an inquiry by the federal Senate this year that found up to 250,000 babies were relinquished for adoption between the 1950s and 1970s, most from young, unmarried women.
Mr Baillieu said the hurt, fear and pain experienced by victims of forced adoption was ongoing and unfair.
''The blame is heartbreaking and the resentment is a burden of unspeakable hardship … the basis of these actions remains, even in the most benign light, wrong, disgraceful, ill conceived and in some cases illegal.''
Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews said a generation of sons and daughters had been denied their mothers. ''These are women who were given sleeping pills in the safety of a local doctor's clinic and woke up in a secure institution for unwed mothers,'' he said.
''These are women who gave birth while tied to a bed, who had sheets and pillows fixed to their face so they never saw their baby.'' Cries of joy spilled from the packed public gallery as Minister for Women's Affairs Mary Wooldridge announced changes to the Adoption Act that would let birth mothers access identifying information about their adopted adult sons and daughters. Ms Wooldridge also announced more counselling and support services.
The joint sitting of Parliament also heard speeches by state Greens leader Greg Barber, Nationals leader Peter Ryan and Pascoe Vale MP Christine Campbell.
The apology was also screened to hundreds more people seated at Queen's Hall and the Windsor Hotel. Almost 1000 children's shoes lined the steps of Parliament in recognition of adopted children.
Ms O'Connor said the apology was surreal and applauded the state government's decision to amend the Adoption Act to let birth mothers access information about their children.
But she said nothing would ever heal the pain of having her daughter taken away.
When she was rushed to Queen Victoria Hospital with labour pains in August 1971 she said she had never felt so alone.
She was placed in a bed in the centre of a ward with 10 other women.
''The nurse closed the curtains around me and a matron came and ripped them open and said, 'What's wrong with you, you don't need the curtains closed.' There was no compassion.''
She begged the nurses to tell her whether she had given birth to a boy or a girl. ''I was lying on the delivery table and they held her down so I could see her,'' she said. ''For a brief two seconds I saw her and then she was gone.''
She spent three years on Valium to deal with trauma of losing her daughter and made a decision never to get married until she was past childbearing age. Ms O'Connor was reunited with her daughter 23 years later and said they now have a wonderful relationship, but said, ''When you grow up with a child you know so much about them. I've missed all that.''
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/tears-as-state-says-sorry-for-thousands-of-forced-adoptions-20121025-28841.html#ixzz2AM26r6MZ
