Towards a greater capacity: Learning from intercountry adoption breakdowns 145
3. From risk factors to protective factors
Barriers to accessing information and contacting birth family
In prevention of disruptions and breakdowns
Another issue is that ICA searching is often more complex than domestic adoption, where searching occurs mostly where the adoption happened. Intercountry adoptees and their searchers describe the many barriers to accessing information and contacting birth family which are set in place by bureaucracy, cultural stigma, communication and logistics to name only a few. Poor or classified record keeping is a common discovery for intercountry adoptees who can experience coming close to answers regarding their past, to suddenly feel denied of this key information. The experience of this injustice can become amplified in a context of loss and disconnection creating lasting effects on emotional health.
Secrecy and obstruction of origins in adoption have lasting effects across the community.227 In relation to adoption satisfaction, those who feel silenced or disconnected from origins can also experience difficulty in forming healthy and trusting relationships within their family context post adoption and an intensified isolation and low self-worth.228 Behaviour is intrinsically linked to emotional experience and this situation can therefore contribute to tense interactions within an adoptive family system. Equally, when adoptive families have been given little or inaccurate information to provide their children and to assist in shaping their parenting through a traumainformed lens, their capacity to respond appropriately and to cope emotionally with challenging behaviours may be more limited. 229
Some adopted people have spoken about the importance of every detail, even those that may seem small or insignificant to others, in the formation of who they are. 225 This emphasises the need for accurate and thorough record keeping and reliable translation services (see Jenny, M. for the ISS, Section 3.2 ). When information is miscommunicated, incorrect or even fabricated and then assumed accurate, this can become the story of someone’s life, with little else available to dispute. People who contemplate an origin search can therefore be fearful of discovering the truth, which could lead to yet another experience of loss of the known self. Adopted people who decide to search, bravely proceed with the possibility of experiencing further losses. However, this is often outweighed by the emotional gains of the process. Tracing of origins can instead be a way of alleviating both personal and cultural loss in particular for intercountry adoptees, where for some the journey is as meaningful as the outcome. 226 Openness and access to origins across borders in the context of ICA plays a key role in overcoming loss in this journey.
225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232
The importance of birth history and the nurturing link to origin and culture within intercountry adoptive placements is clearly recognised in the 1993 Hague Convention which states the eligibility criteria to adopt internationally should include the Central Authority of the country of origin (CO)’s judgement of the ability of an adoptive parent to undertake facilitating the child’s identity development 230 including “his or her ethnic, religious and cultural background.”231 In reality, assuring these practices is more challenging across international borders and when there are barriers to information. Arguably, the less information or connection available to an adopted person, places more onus and importance on the adoptive family to “attend to issues of loss and identity.”232 Where there is little knowledge, or access to origins is limited, a fantasy may fill the void of where reality would sit, as a way of making sense of a life story and a way to protect from further loss and disappointment. C. Lucey, et al., state that: “Children are entitled to the facts about themselves, such as who their parents were, the reasons why certain events occurred to them, and who else has been relevant to their lives, even if such information may be emotionally upsetting. Children also need to be taught about the everyday world so they can test their ideas and learn how to weigh up alternative possible explanations. Without this opportunity, children are liable to avoid thinking
Long, L. (ed.) (2016). ICAV Perspective Paper: The Experiences and Views of Intercountry and Transracial Adoptees . ICAV, Baulkham Hills, pp. 72. Ibidem , pp. 50. Kenny, P., Higgins, D., Soloff, C. & Sweid, R. (2012). Past Adoption Experiences: National Research Study on the Service Response to Past Adoption Practices. AIFS, Melbourne, pp. 169-174. Armstrong, S. & Slaytor, P. (2001). Op. Cit. , nº224, pp. 49-59. Siegel, D. & Hartzell, M. (2003). Parenting from the Inside Out. Tarcher/Penguin, NY, pp. 185. Article 15(1) of the 1993 Hague Convention. Article 16(1)(b) of the 1993 Hague Convention; Mohanty, J. & Newhill, C. (2006). Adjustment of international adoptees: Implications for practice and a future research agenda . Children and Youth Services Review, 28(4), pp. 385. Neil, E. & Howe, D. (2004). Conclusions: a transactional model for thinking about contact in Neil, E. & Howe, D. (Eds.). Contact in adoption and permanent foster care. London: British Association for Adoption & Fostering, pp. 224-254.