Jyotika and her two younger brothers lost their parents to AIDS at a very young age. Left with no one else to turn to, they turned to each other instead. Through some of the most challenging phases in their lives, they had each other’s backs and pushed through life together, with Jyotika taking most of the responsibility. All that changed when Jyotika turned 15. Just when they were beginning to reshape their lives, there was bad news again. Jyotika was diagnosed with HIV. As soon as she heard the news, fear crippled her. Not fear for her life, but for what her brothers would do without her. As the days passed and with no one else to care for her, she had no choice but to admit herself into a shelter home for HIV-infected children. She was heartbroken. Her brothers were her only family, her whole world. But she had to leave. Five years later, at the home, Jyotika is now well taken care of. She has finished her school education and is currently taking tailoring lessons. However, she still yearns for her brothers. “What must they be doing? I hope they’re studying well and not messing around,” she says. She tries to visit them once a year, but sometimes, even that cannot happen because they live far away and she doesn’t always have the money to travel. One of her brothers is living in a shelter home, while the other has been adopted by a family. Worried about her brother Arun, she says, “The last time I saw him, he had been smoking and drinking irresponsibly. I’m worried for him. Had I been with him I would have been able to advise him, and help him stay on the right track. Now I don’t know who his friends are and what sort of influence they’re having on him. I know he’s burdened about something, but he doesn’t share anything with anyone. It’s been so many years now that our bond is bruised. I wish I could spend time with him and he could open up to me.” Of her brother Abhishek she says, “He’s still so young. He calls me up every time and pleads with me to come to stay with him. My heart aches whenever I hear him say that. Every day I dream that one day, the three of us would be together again. We have spoken about it. But we need to study hard and work hard so that we can have our own house and live together just like when we were children.” There are many others like Jyotika. For instance, 18-year-old Padmaja who grew up in a big family of five children. They all live separately now. Although the older ones have gotten married or gone their own way, Padmaja is still in touch with her younger sister. They haven’t met in three years. Padmaja had saved up money to meet her two years ago, but the pandemic hit and there were travel restrictions. She says, “I haven’t been doing well in my studies. I know I have to and that’s my only way out. But every time I open my book, all these thoughts cross my mind and I lose my concentration. I’m just longing to see my sister and I feel very very lonely.” There are an estimated 30 million orphans in India today. There is no government data on how many of them are sibling groups. Of these orphans, around 4,000 children are adopted each year. The Child Adoption Resource Authority records that as of 2018 there were 183 sets of siblings among them. State policies have tried to keep these siblings together. According to the amended Juvenile Justice Act of 2015 which governs adoptions, “all efforts must be made to keep siblings in institutional or non-institutional care together, unless it is in the best interest of the child.” While civil society and public authorities are doing their best to make this happen, it isn’t always easy. Many factors continue to cause siblings to be separated. For instance, the lack of space and resources in shelter homes leaves them unable to accommodate more children. When it comes to adoption, most parents want to adopt only one child. Another reason for the separation is that male and female children cannot stay together in homes. So a lot of the boy-girl siblings are separated because of this. Special needs children are also often separated from their siblings, as adoptive parents only want to adopt the “healthy” child. Also, they usually want to adopt newborn babies and toddlers, so older siblings are left behind. When it comes to foster care, however, there are options like group foster care. For instance, all SOS villages across the country follow this system where siblings usually are allowed to grow up together in the same house, under their SOS parents. This is decided by the local Child Welfare Committee. But if it’s an older boy, he will be sent to a boy’s home. There are also some NGOs that have the boys home and girls home next to each other so that boy-girl siblings can still live close by. According to various studies, the death of parents or abuse and neglect from parents often leads to a deeper bond between siblings. In a lot of cases, the older children take up the responsibility of parenting the younger one and the younger ones solely depend on the older child. When that bond is broken, it can lead to severe emotional distress. And although siblings who are separated are allowed to meet each other, it is not always feasible. According to psychologist and counsellor Jemima Wesley, “it depends on the situation from which they are adopted or taken into alternative care. It depends on the attachment and bonding a child already has with his or her sibling. In many cases, although they are siblings, there is no strong bond. In such cases it won’t really impact the child. Again in the case of newborn babies or toddlers, it won’t really have a lasting impact.” Over the years the Child Adoption Resource Authority had been making all efforts to find prospective parents willing to adopt all siblings. But in 2018, union women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi announced that children older than 5 could be separated from their siblings, provided they gave their consent. The government said it decided to do this because it could not find enough adoptive parents willing or able to adopt all siblings together, and hence it would be better for them to live separately with better facilities and care. According to a recent analysis the share of public spending on children’s welfare (‘education, nutrition, health, protection and other developments’) has been slashed by nearly half since 2014, from 4.5 to 2.5% of union budget estimates.

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Social Care Standards Authority CEO Matthew Vella says that efforts are underway to widen the group of countries from where Maltese could adopt children

The Social Care Standards Authority is currently negotiating with Nepalese authorities over a possible deal which would allow prospective Maltese parents to adopt from the country.

Social Care Standards Authority CEO Matthew Vella said this while addressing the National Adoption Conference on Friday.

Also addressing the conference was Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who insisted that every effort should be done to make it easier for prospective parents to be able to adopt.

“There’s no cutting corners when it comes to adoption. We must ensure that as policy makers we do the utmost to facilitate adoption of both Maltese and foreign children for parents looking to adopt,” he said.

Yesterday, after news broke that Malta’s court had given the go-ahead for the first adoption of a child by a same-sex couple, Malta’s Facebook exploded.

Many praised the move as a huge leap forward for Malta, while others rambled on about the doom and gloom this would bring about; flinging around the classic arguments the anti-adoption camp always do (something about it being “unnatural” and “not in the child’s best interest”).

But you know who doesn’t seem to care about all these online, all-caps arguments? Ben.

Meet Ben, the first child to be adopted by a same-sex couple in Malta. His father, Kris Grima, posted a touching introduction on Facebook, where he thanked everyone for the work they did leading to this beautiful moment, while subtly slamming the nay-sayers judging his family without even knowing anything about them.

You’ll be hard pressed to find a happier looking baby or one who rocks a white bucket-hat as well as Ben. So congrats to this new family, and in the words of Kris himself, may many more follow!

The Madras High Court upheld the 224-year-old jurisdiction; The five-judge bench, by a 3:2 majority, rules that the underlying jurisdiction cannot be superseded by the Family Courts Act 1984.

The Madras High Court upheld the 224-year-old jurisdiction; The five-judge bench, by a 3:2 majority, rules that the underlying jurisdiction cannot be superseded by the Family Courts Act 1984.

It is not often that the Madras High Court constitutes a five-judge bench. One such bench was set up this year to answer an important question of law – whether guardianship and child custody petitions should be filed only before family courts or even in the Madras High Court, with respect to its underlying parents. Can be filed by applying jurisdiction. Minor?

Justice PN Prakash, R. Mahadevan, M. Sundar, N. Anand Venkatesh and A.A. Nakkiran heard marathon arguments for months by a battery of lawyers, with a section arguing in favor of concurrent jurisdiction by the High Court as well as the Family Courts. and the other argued that after the enactment of the Family Courts Act, 1984 the jurisdiction of the High Court has ceased to exist.

Given the complex nature of the dispute due to parental jurisdiction that has been going on for more than 224 years, the five-judge bench’s ruling was not unanimous. Instead, it upheld the argument in favor of concurrent jurisdiction by a 3:2 majority and ruled that the High Court can exercise jurisdiction not only with respect to children residing within the city of Chennai but across the state.

In the landscape of initiatives aimed at better understanding the history of international adoption and the many irregularities that have affected it, the " Historical study on illicit practices in international adoption in France was published on February 6, 2023. Carried out by Yves Denéchère, professor at the University of Angers and recognized specialist in the history of international adoption, and Fabio Macedo, doctor of history, the study, rather than analyzing in detail the adoptive practice between such and such countries at such and such a period (as did the Netherlands and Switzerland for example), produces a unique compilation of the available sources. The body of the document thus consists of a review of academic literature including a rich bibliography, and an annotated guide to sources – archives, audiovisual sources, press – likely to document illicit practices. The conclusions offer “ avenues for reflection to launch in-depth research on the subject or more simply to guide the analyzes".

This enormous work of researching sources draws a fascinating history as to the way in which information relating to abuses and bad practices have, since the 1970s, flowed between the countries of origin and France. Communications from diplomatic representations are particularly enlightening in this respect, pointing out precisely and sometimes insistently the problems noted by the diplomats in charge of issuing visas. Explicit press articles concerning trafficking are also listed as early as 1976.

In their analysis, the authors conclude: " Since the 1980s at least, and in particular major court cases and publicized in Peru or Brazil, all the structured actors of international adoption were aware of illicit practices perpetrated in the adoption international. They could not therefore be unaware of the risks of offenses relating to international adoption ” (p.137). And to add:It would have been necessary to be blind and deaf to what was said, shared, written, published. This position is even less defensible coming from people or associations claiming experience and expertise in international adoption, a rigorous choice of their partners and in-depth knowledge of the contexts and procedures of the countries of origin in which they work. . In doing so, they bear an undeniable share of responsibility for certain deviations ” (p.140).

Coincidentally, I have just finished Véronique Piaser-Moyen's testimonial book " My daughter, I didn't know ". The author first recounts the story of the adoption of her daughter in Sri Lanka in 1984, describing in detail those very special moments when candidates for adoption become adoptive parents. The second part of the book is devoted to uncovering the widespread abuses when Sri Lanka practiced large-scale intercountry adoption. This book is of real interest if you want to understand the origins of the difficult questions that cross international adoption today. By following these parents step by step, we realize how difficult, if not impossible, it would have been to question an administrative act or an incongruous request when picking up the child. Language, emotional stress, the staging of local actors and a certain underlying violence make any initiative, any questioning of the system, illusory. This powerlessness becomes devastating upon discovery of the abuse, leading to feelings of betrayal and guilt that are very difficult to overcome. It is repeated when the "fight for the truth" which then begins also becomes a source of stress, threats and disappointment, especially since Mrs. Piaser-Moyen, after her adoption, is involved in helping other French families wishing to adopt in Sri Lanka.

Putting the historical study and intimate testimony into perspective then questions the statement quoted above regarding the blindness of the actors and their respective responsibilities. For the researchers, the information was there, but hardly anyone paid it the necessary attention. For the Piaser-Moyen parents “ They [the French State] knew and they told us nothing ” making them “ accomplices in an irreparable crime ” (p.329).

Adoption without parental consent, falsification of documents, payment for child abandonment. These are some of the irregularities found in a study of four decades of international adoptions by French people in different countries, including Brazil. The report, published this week, documents illegalities and crimes that occurred in the adoption process, in the registration of the child and in the removal from his country of origin.

The study was carried out by Yves Denéchère and Fabio Macedo, two historians from the University of Angers, and reveals the dark face of the increase in the number of international adoptions carried out by French people from 1979 onwards.

The researchers analyzed thousands of diplomatic files from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the subject and found reports of various illicit practices in the process of adopting children. The researchers studied documents up to 2021, which contained information about adoptions in dozens of countries.

“The most common problem is the lack of consent by the biological family. Be it lack of free and informed consent from the mother, or from the biological family”, explains Macedo.

In the period studied, the countries of origin with the highest number of children adopted by French people were Vietnam, Colombia, South Korea, Haiti and Brazil.

Malawian judge Fiona Mwale who authorised U.S. singer Madonna's adoption of two girls has now delivered a thoroughgoing critique of the legislation surrounding adoptions in that country, with strong recommendations for parliament on changes that should be made urgently, to protect the many vulnerable babies who need new homes and families through the adoption process, reports Carmel Rickard for Legal Brief.

Mwale has pointed to the need for Malawi to become a signatory to the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, a convention which, she said, "provides the practical requirements necessary for states to safeguard the best interests of the child in cases where foreigners fly in to adopt a child."

Many of these will require legislative changes and therefore could be some time in being made - but the judge has strongly motivated both the need for changes to the legal and practical content as well as the need for urgency.

The Ethiopian World Federation (EWF) has accused Madonna of human trafficking and sexually exploiting children by charitable organization Raising Malawi which the singer founded in 2006. The non-profit seeks to support orphans and vulnerable children through health and education programmes. Madonna adopted four children from Malawi.

According to EWF, Madonna's 1992 book titled Sex was cited in the petition, which features adult content, softcore porn, and sadomasochism. Pornographic content and LGBTQ conduct is punishable by law in the country of Malawi. "Gay porn stars were photographed in pornographic pictures with Madonna performing vulgar sex acts with the same sex which should have been disclosed during her adoption case in 2006 in Lilongwe, Malawi."

An apology to the victims of forced adoption in Wales has been welcomed by campaigners as pressure builds on the Scottish Government to do the same.

Julie Morgan, the deputy minister for social services in Wales, apologised to the unmarried mothers forced to give up their babies saying their suffering has been “appalling”.

She said: “I would like to ­convey my deepest sympathy and regret that, due to society failing you, you had to endure such appalling historical practices. For this I am truly sorry.”

The Welsh Assembly member added: “Whilst forced adoption practices predate devolution in Wales, they have a lasting legacy on all those who experienced them – for both the parents and the children. I want to put on record my profound sympathy to all those who have been affected by historic forced adoption.”

Scotland’s leading forced ­adoption campaigner, Marion McMillan, whose evidence was considered as Australia led the world 10 years ago to make the first official apology, said Nicola Sturgeon had had a decade to say “sorry”, but had failed to do so.

A six-day-old baby girl, who the gang had abducted and wanted to sell, was recovered from the possession of the accused.

Mohali police on Friday said that they have so far found that a woman — who had been arrested earlier this week and subsequently found to be part of a racket that stole newborns — also provided fake adoption certificates.

Police are also probing the role of some Asha Workers in the scam as the gang could have in touch with the workers to know about the deliveries of children.

Police on Monday had arrested Manjinder Singh, and his wife Parwinder Kaur — both residents of Faridkot — and Charanbir Singh, and his wife Sakshi, both residents of Patiala, for being part of a racket that was involved in stealing and selling newborns. A six-day-old baby girl, who the gang had abducted and wanted to sell, was recovered from the possession of the accused.

On Friday, the police told The Indian Express that they have found in the course of their investigation that Sakshi was also involved in providing the fake adoption certificates. A laptop that was issued to Sakshi by Punjabi University — where she was an employee — for official work was confisticated for further probe.

The historical study on the illicit practices of international adoption in France, made public by two historians from the University of Angers, could well mark a turning point in this policy which is similar to human trafficking. This report, which identifies “systematic illicit practices, source of immense profits” is in every respect frightening. The two researchers Fabio Macedo and Yves Denéchèrewho have gone through some 9,600 pages of archives from the State's diplomatic archives, shed light on a bewildering system of trafficking in bought children, the creation of false orphans, even kidnappings when the biological mothers refuse to abandon their offspring. In the microcosm, this state of affairs is not really a surprise. Already in 2000, the United Nations and UNICEF published a damning report on the subject. There was then the highly publicized scandal of the association l'Arche de Zoéwho had tried to exfiltrate a hundred children from Darfur to France. The novelty that this new study highlights is that these facts have been repeatedly denounced by the French diplomatic corps, without their supervisory administration being concerned about it. In fact, five associations seriously questioned in the report are still approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs! These shortcomings tinged with a culpable laxity demonstrate the gross dysfunctions of the State in terms of control, but also in the feedback of information to the decision-making centres. France would be well advised to distance itself from this policy of scribbling which could end up playing tricks on it. Since last September, the UN has allowed illegal adoptions to be recognized as crimes against humanity. France, the fourth host country in the world, has allowed the arrival on its soil of 120,000 children since 1970. How many are affected by these excesses? The report does not say so. The grenade of illicit adoption is however unpinned. It remains to be seen where and when it will explode.