Without a clear consensual language, it can be very difficult for adopted people to conceptualise their lived experience.

One of the greatest hurdles within the adoption survivorship community has been to find the words and terminology with which to adequately describe and frame our experiences.

Adopted people and our mothers have the right to a language that is respectful of their lived experiences and holds space for our truth telling, no matter how uncomfortable it may be for those who are not from our community.

We are sometimes referred to as ‘’The Other (White) Stolen Generations”, which is problematic because First Nation Australians and non-Caucasian migrants were also impacted. There is the Americanism, “Baby Scoop Era” a sanitised term of reference which is less commonly used in Australia. At present the consensus is to use the phrase, “Forced Adoption Era”, with ‘illegal adoption’, ‘newborn trafficking’ and ‘child abduction’ all making regular appearances in the media, public forums and other writing relating to our lived experience.

The word ‘forced’ is an umbrella term used to describe a collective experience of past adoptive practices and policies. For some, the use of the word forced in reference to their adoption experience is incredibly difficult to reconcile. There are many reasons for this, unique to the individual, their lived experience, personal style of coping mechanisms and how deeply one has delved into undercovering what happened to them through the acquisition of personal records and speaking their family and other witnesses.

For decades both mothers and adopted people were indoctrinated into believing that their separations occurred for a ‘good reason’. Impacted parties may not have considered that the way they were treated during the adoption processes routinely violated human right conventions. Often this is an act of self-preservation, as how do you reconcile after being told the contrary for decades that; your mother/father/father actually wanted you and that for mothers/fathers, or your newborn did not experience the better life, adoptive authorities repeatedly stated as a means to convince mothers.

The word ‘forced’ is that it is a problematic term and may inadvertently exclude many from identifying they were impacted by past adoptive policies and practices. The word ‘forced’ could also be weaponised against survivors should there ever be a redress program or legal proceedings, where survivors will be required to prove adoption was ‘forced’ upon them.