This paper from Inter Country Adoptee Voices (ICAV) attempts to bring together not only the voices and experiences of impacted intercountry adoptees who have lived experience with some form of illicit practice in their adoption (including falsified documents), but also the voices of a few adoptive parents and first family representation. An objective of this paper is to break down the perception that illicit intercountry adoptions affect just a few. Another objective is to attempt to learn from the past and provide solutions for the future, as well as ensure those from historical intercountry adoptions, are provided for in terms of services and support. A third, is to demonstrate that the remedy needs to deal with the wrong.
Among the recommendations from adoptees and their families is to strengthen laws for registering a child once born and require independent verification of the child’s identity, or include an internationally accepted DNA test to prove parentage.
