Apology to WA mothers is welcome and should be nation-wide: MP

The Greens have welcomed the State Government’s planned apology to women, children and families affected by the decades-long mistreatment of unmarried mothers by authorities, due to be presented in Parliament this Tuesday.

Greens MLC Alison Xamon described the previous practice of taking children from unwed mothers without their consent or under coercion as “institutionalised baby theft.”

“Unmarried mothers were treated appallingly. They were denigrated and dehumanised and their children were taken from them,” she said. “Many of them were very young and extremely vulnerable. They were pressured into believing they had no option but to give their child up for adoption, and often not allowed to see their baby – not even for a moment.”

Ms Xamon has called for action from the Commonwealth Government to address the trauma caused by such adoption practices around Australia, believed to have continued into the 1980s.

“Evidence indicates many of the young mothers were so emotionally scarred by the experience they never had children again, and the children themselves grew up mistakenly believing their mothers had abandoned them,” she said. “The apology from the State Government is overdue and it’s troubling that no other State or Territory has taken this step before.”

Ms Xamon said that an apology from the Commonwealth Government was appropriate because of the wide-spread nature of the practice around the nation.

“Next week Greens Senator for WA Rachel Siewert will move a motion in the Federal Senate to recognise the suffering of the thousands of mothers who were victims of the forced adoption policies and to acknowledge that these mothers deserve an apology. We are hopeful that this motion will be successful with Western Australia having lead the way.”

Women around Australia who continue to endure trauma as a result of being separated from their children are expected to attend WA Parliament to hear the apology.

“An apology from the authorities which either carried out or encouraged these practices is important for the healing of the victims,” Ms Xamon said. “It also sends a clear message that the human rights of all people, including the most vulnerable people in our community, should be vigilantly protected at all times.”