Adoption in forced situations: On the history of national and international adoptions in Switzerland from the 1960s to the present day
The history of national and international adoptions in Switzerland has hardly been investigated. For the persons concerned, an adoption is drastic, with the adopted and their families of origin experiencing a cut in their paths of life. Seen historically, in adoption procedures, welfare and coercion often interacted.
Project description (ongoing research project)
It is the study’s goal to investigate the dynamics of welfare and coercion in national and international adoptions since the 1960s. Focus is placed on the action undertaken by the authorities and civil law organizations. The legal bases, development of adoption statistics, and the viewpoints of the persons concerned will be analyzed and put in correlation, in line with a multi-perspective approach. Past research has shown that unwed mothers in Switzerland often lived in precarious economic circumstances. In the 1970s, they were pressured to give their children up for adoption. With the decrease of intercountry adoptions, international adoptions gained in importance. Studies carried out to date indicate that too little consideration was given to the welfare of the children.
Background
Internationally and in Switzerland, the history of national and international adoptions awakens great societal interest. Over the course of the past few years, representative organizations in Switzerland launched a political process, similar to the process initiated some decades ago with regard to coercive measures taken in welfare. Recently, the Swiss Federal Council issued a report on Sri Lanka adoptions in Switzerland, determining need for further research regarding the historical revision of adoptions in Switzerland.
Aim
First, we will investigate how the authorities and civil society institutions shaped the adoption process and where coercive moments can be identified with regard to the latter. Two, the study is interested in the motives and plights of the parents who gave their children up for adoption as well as which coercive moments the adopted children experienced. Third, we will analyze why adoptive parents decided to adopt.
Relevance
The scientific examination will provide the adopted persons as well as researchers with new insights into the history of national and international adoptions in Switzerland. It will put in context Switzerland’s current political endeavors with regard to adoptions under coercive circumstances as well as aiding the quest for origins. Furthermore, the project is to provide insight into relevant research questions and furnish source materials for further research.
Original title
Adoption in forced situations: On the history of national and international adoptions in Switzerland from the 1960s to the present day