Tag Archives: Gay Adoption Laws

Increase in LGBT Adopters Seen Across the UK

In the UK, same-sex couples have had the right to adopt children since 2005. While it certainly took parliament long enough to make that legal, now approximately 7% of all adoptions that take place in the UK are done by same-sex families.

The figures may be a little higher for the leading national adoption support service, After Adoption, though, as a massive 13% of all of their adoptions between 2013-2014 were done by lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans* adopters.

The reason for that figure, After Adoption says, is because they’re keen to show that sexuality or gender identity don’t make a difference when it comes to who can provide a loving family for a child. The CEO of After Adoption, Lynn Charlton also adds that:

“At After Adoption, our priority as a Voluntary Adoption Agency is to create happy, lasting families. For this we need people to come forward to adopt who can provide loving, stable homes and who will commit to children for life. Sexuality isn’t a factor in that.

People who identify as LGBT play a key role in creating these families and this year 1 in 5 of our newly approved adopters identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. But we know some people are still worried they’ll be told “no”, or that their sexuality will be a barrier to adoption.”

Meanwhile, After Adoption also recently used their position as a key sponsor and exhibitor of New Family Social’s LGBT Adoption & Fostering Week (which took place in Manchester on March 2nd) to talk about the general adoption process but also to dispel common misconceptions that people have about the LGBT community and their adoption of children.

According to official statistics, there are over 60,000 children in care in the UK and while there are no official numbers, there is certainly a great deal of same-sex couples or those who identify as LGBT who would like to adopt and start families of their own. The fact that After Adoption is helping with that is certainly a good thing and you can find out more at their website here.

Australia’s First Minister for Quality Vows to Reform Gay Adoption Laws

Whilst the topic of same-gender marriage is a very important (but contentious) issue in the LGBT rights community, another big challenge faces same gender families: adoption.

For various reasons same gender couples look to adoption as a way of adding to their family. Whilst few could argue with someone’s wishes to introduce a child into a loving home and give them a good upbringing, for same gender couples doing so requires them to jump through a ridiculous amount of hoops. In fact, in some places adoption by same-gender parents is prohibited.

Despite being the first state in Australia where a child was born following IVF surrogacy, the rest of Victoria’s policies have remained archaic and adoption policies in the state have been recommended for reform for years. The country’s very first minister for quality now wants to change that though, by bringing Victoria in line with the rest of the country.

Sworn in last week, Minister of Equality Martin Foley is the first person to hold the title. Never before has Australia appointed someone specifically for LGBTQ issues but now that’s exactly what Foley will be focusing on.

After his role was made official, Foley said that Labor (the party he is part of) would tackle Victoria’s lacking adoption policies where same gender couples in the state can be appointed as foster parents or guardians but they cannot adopt a child together. Nor can a step-parent adopt their partner’s child or jointly adopt a child conceived through IVF.

The move signals the Labor Party’s attempts at keeping in line with the official stance they adopted in May of this year. They added same gender adoption rights to their platform and so this marks some serious progress on that front.

But adoption isn’t the only LGBTQ rights issue that Foley and his party will be tackling. Also on the agenda is an amendment to the Relationships Register so that same gender couples married in other countries can have their marriages recognised in Victoria, rewriting laws to prevent discrimination for sexual orientation (or religious beliefs) in the workplace and requiring secondary schools to have programs that support gay students.

Foley also expressed that his appointment is an important step in the LGBTQ rights movement and that these issues are something that his party wants to get right. So it’s early days yet but we’ll keep you posted on any outcomes.