The Dutch Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles (Raad voor Strafrechtstoepassing en Jeugdbescherming, RSJ) recently issued the recommendation to abolish international adoption in The Netherlands. Its argument is two-fold: children’s rights to grow up in their country of origin needs to be more front and center, and the supply-and-demand nature of adoption has contributed to systemic abuse, which puts children at risk. While I agree with the council’s concerns about the children’s well-being and the flaws in adoption practices, I do not share the conclusion that ending international adoption is necessarily in the best interest of the child. It’s a complicated issue that demands a complex resolution, and I believe the RSJ recommendation is too simplistic and lacks ambition to push for an international overhaul of an outdated adoption system.
Thirty-one years ago, I was a 6-week-old baby, born in Sri Lanka to a single mother and adopted by my Dutch parents. I grew up in The Netherlands in a very loving family with incredible parents and an amazing sister, whom my parents also adopted from Sri Lanka. Almost a decade ago, I moved to the United States and in 2010, completed a master’s degree in Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with my thesis on international adoption in relationship to global and social reproductive justice. I wrote about the implications of the problematic power differentials among the parties involved in adoption and the root causes that contribute to the “availability” of children for adoption in the first place.
I currently reside in Washington DC, where I work in Diversity & Inclusion management. Last year, I met my birth mother for the first time and although it’s difficult to develop a strong relationship, we occasionally stay in touch through letters. I’m sharing my life in a nutshell so that you understand where I’m coming from as I write this. I neither promote nor condemn adoption, because I could make a strong case for or against it, based on my research and personal experience and that of others.
RSJ recommends improving the options for children to be raised in their countries of origin, which is absolutely critical. But it would mean addressing the reasons why that’s currently a challenge. Poverty, epidemics, wars, natalist and antinatalist government policies, lack of access to reproductive healthcare, and gender discrimination are some of the reasons why birth families may be unable to take care of their children. This is often combined with a lack of government stability, commitment, policies and resources for sufficient child protective services. It’s clear to see that abandonment or adoption are rarely birth parents’ preferred options –rather circumstances or other people force them to be the only options.
In addition, adoption as a remnant of our colonial history and a symptom of our continued global political, socioeconomic, racial, and gender inequalities also call for critical examination of the overall system that has condoned abuse and exploitation for too long. My and my sister’s adoption was done in the most legal and transparent way with great care taken to honor to all parties involved. But my parents have always been mindful of the fact that they were able to build a family thanks to their privilege in this unjust world.
There are many, many flaws in the current adoption policies and international treaties, but abolishing adoption altogether will not fix the underlying injustices inherent in the practice. We have to revise outdated regulations, increase transparency, reduce financial incentives for adoption, and ensure the rights of children and parents. Simultaneously, we can –and should– focus on socioeconomic development, peacekeeping, improvement of healthcare and reproductive healthcare options, and advocacy for gender equality.
Rather than abolishing international adoption, I urge The Dutch government to focus on reducing the need for adoption while also increasing the safeguards in the system by calling for an international effort to reassess the current state of affairs. Let’s reinvent the way we approach adoption and transform the discourse and practice, so that we can ensure justice and protection of human rights for children, birth parents, and adoptive parents across the world.
Minjon Tholen is a Diversity & Inclusion Strategist based in Washington D.C. Connect with her on Twitter @minjonce