Genealogy site Scotland’s People made available records of adoptions dating back 100 years, raising fears for breaches of privacy

A genealogy website operated by the Scottish government has disclosed the names of thousands of people adopted as children.

The Scotland’s People site made available the records of adoptions dating back more than 100 years, records that included the adopted child’s first name and new surname. While the Information Commissioner’s Office has not received a formal breach report, its officials were contacted by National Records of Scotland (NRS), an official arm of the Scottish government that runs the website.

The mother of an adopted child had stumbled upon the Scotland’s People records after finding her child’s full details on the site, BBC Scotland News reported. “The whole adoption register was there online for everybody to see,” she said. “I was horrified.”

The TV2 broadcasts 'The secret in the shadow archive' which were broadcast on TV2 on 2 and 9 August unfortunately support our knowledge of the very unacceptable conditions in adoptions from South Korea, which the Danish Korean Rights Group already documented last year in their investigations of several hundred adoptions. This concerns, among other things, about:

• Exchange and falsification of adoptee's identity
• Systematic lying in South Korea about the background of many adoptees, as they have been lied to as orphans and provided with suspiciously similar background stories about whereabouts etc.
• The Korean adoption agencies' refusal to hand over the adoptees' personal documents/information to them.

As a result of DKRG's documentation, investigations into adoptions from South Korea to Denmark in the 1970s and 80s have been initiated both in South Korea and in Denmark.

Apparently the "business model" itself was invented in South Korea and very conveniently adapted to the country's laws that only orphans could be adopted out, which explains the false backstories that have been attached to the adoptees.

According to the broadcasts, however, the Danish adoption mediation organizations were not just naive recipients of children, but actually also active players in the process, as they - at least as described in the broadcasts - with so-called "donations" pushed for more "deliveries" of children. It goes without saying that if this is true, then the former mediating organizations, now DIA, have a very big problem of explanation, but so do the Danish supervisory authorities in truth!

Andhra Pradesh’s childcare institutions, meant to be sanctuaries for vulnerable minors, are grappling with an unsettling reality. The Hindu finds that recent incidents expose the compromised safety of children post-rescue, underscored by abuse, negligence, and the leaking of sensitive data 

Two years ago, Rani (name changed to protect identity), now 15, lost her mother to an illness. Left in the care of her father, a private company employee, Rani and her younger brother found themselves neglected and unsupported. In September this year, family members sought to marry off the class 9 student. However, timely intervention by an NGO and the police in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh thwarted the child marriage bid. Following the rescue, Rani was shifted to a care home in Vijayawada, through the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in the district. Once again, she finds herself in a distressing situation. “The care home staff collected personal information about me and later leaked it,” she says. This breach of trust ironically came to light on the International Day of the Girl Child on October 11. 

Blog written by Team Adoption of SAPPersonal Injury Lawyers

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, consisting of: Saskia de Groot, Mark de Hek and Sharon Soeltan
 

Since the 1970s, more than forty thousand children in the Netherlands have been adopted from abroad. Around the same time, the first reports of adoption abuse appeared in the media. About the forgery of documents, the exploitation of poverty among birth mothers and the relinquishment of children for payment or under duress. However distressing the signals may be, they do not lead to critical reflection in the public and political debate, let alone a reconsideration of the system of intercountry adoption.

The Bombay High Court made the remark while granting bail to a person accused of raping a minor girl and impregnating her.

The Bombay High Court on Thursday said conducting a DNA test on the child of a rape victim after adoption would not be in best interest of the kid, PTI reported. The Bombay HC, while granting bail to a person accused of raping a minor girl and impregnating her, said, "It is pertinent to note that in the factual situation since the child is given in adoption, the DNA test of the said child may not be in the interest of the child and future of the child."

The 17-year-old rape victim gave birth to a child and later put up the baby for adoption. A single bench of Justice GA Sanap sought to  know from the police if any DNA test had been conducted on the child.

The police informed the court that the child was put up for adoption right after birth. Police also said the institution concerned had refused to disclose the identity of the adoptive parents. The court observed that the institution's stand was reasonable.

In his bail petition, the man claimed that it was a consensual relationship and the victim, though minor, had an understanding of the same. However, the case lodged with the police said the accused forcibly had intercourse with the victim and impregnated her. 

Recommendations of the working groupOrigin search for supportof adopted people

Danuț Sebastian Neculaescu, the son of the head of the pensioners' organization PSD Dâmbovița, Sache Neculaescu, a former communist activist involved in child trafficking in 1991, was appointed secretary of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Prime Minister Dacian Cioloș on Thursday.

Neculaescu junior was previously director general for strategic affairs within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. And his wife works in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Neculaescu senior signed several books with PSD Dâmbovița head, Adrian Țuțuianu.

Neculaescu senior appeared on the list of those who circulated works written in penitentiaries. He coordinated the work "Appeals in the civil process - Comparative view between the code of civil procedure from 1865 and the code of civil procedure entered into force on 15.02.2013". The author of the work published by the Bibliotheca Publishing House is none other than the former president of the Dâmbovița Court, Ion Miloșoiu, convicted of influence peddling.

Because participating adoptees were already adults, malpractice had generally occurred more than 20 years ago, especially prior to their adoption in the country of origin and/or during the adoption process. The adoptees often discovered them later in life, for example during searches. 

The adoptees indicated that malpractice in intercountry adoption had a major impact on their emotional well-being. It often caused long-term problems in multiple areas, especially in the areas of trauma, identity development and relationships. For example, problems with self-esteem, attachment, fear of abandonment and grief were mentioned. It also had an effect on their own parenting. 

No words for it

Several adoptees indicated that it was very difficult to be heard. Because malpractice in adoption did not fit the positive story surrounding adoption, this was often not recognized in society. The narrative that the adoptee should be grateful often overshadowed the complex and ambivalent experiences that adoptees struggled with. This placed an additional burden on the adoptees. They sometimes could not understand why they had emotional and physical reactions, there was no recognition and no language to understand this and interpret their own experiences. Sometimes the discovery of malpractice also caused tension within the adoptive family, where it could lead to the adoptive parents feeling guilty or to conflict. 

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: GOMES Ana Maria

To: "O'REILLY Emily"

Cc:

Bcc:

Are you an adopter? Have the recent media stories about crime in the adoption system made you unsure of what really went on? Unsure whether you can trust your adoption papers?

For a long time, many adoptees have called for an investigation into the international adoption system, but I think it is time for us adopters to come forward. Our children have a right to know their history. And we have a right to know what kind of foundation our families are built on. 

Minister of Social Affairs and Housing Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil is not averse to an investigation into the adoption system. But partly she has not yet acted on it, and partly she proposes that the Danish Appeals Board be responsible for the investigation. The Danish Appeals Board is the supervisory authority in the area of ​​adoption and thus cannot be regarded as impartial.

Therefore, I hope that you will help sign the following petition:

Dear Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil

As adopters, we are pleased that you are showing an interest in the field of adoption and are considering an investigation into international adoption. Recent media cases clearly emphasize the need for such an investigation.

An impartial investigation
However, it is important for us to point out that the Danish Appeals Board is not an impartial party. The Danish Appeals Board is the supervisory authority, and it therefore does not make sense for them to investigate their own work. It is absolutely essential that both adoptees, original families and adopters can have confidence in the outcome of an investigation, and therefore we would like to call for it to be carried out by a completely impartial commission. One could, for example, be inspired by the commission of inquiry which is currently investigating international adoption in Norway.

A comprehensive investigation
Furthermore, we hope for a thorough, ambitious and comprehensive investigation of all international adoption mediation to Denmark from the 1960s until today. Several smaller studies of individual countries and periods have been carried out over time, but there is a need for an overall picture.

Quick initiation
Last but not least, we would like to encourage the investigation to be initiated as soon as possible. The uncertainty affects many, both adoptees, original families and adopters, and action is needed.

On behalf of the following adopters and co-signatories,

Trine Rahbek
adoptanttanker.dk