Key Points
- Tuesday marks a decade since the Victorian government publicly apologised to victims of forced adoptions
- Premier Daniel Andrews has pledged a $4 million redress, but it has not yet been finalised.
Fifty years after her newborn son was forcibly taken against her will and put up for adoption by the state government, Tricia Lester still struggles with grief and a deep sense of loss.
Ms Lester was 18 and unmarried when she gave birth to her only child in Melbourne in 1972, which the state government deemed to be grounds for its cruel practice of forced adoptions.
Ms Lester is among tens of thousands of Victorian mothers who were the victims of an inhumane system, and in some instances there were reports of mothers being coerced and drugged.
"You get by because you live your every day life, but I still struggle with my sense of worth, my sense of identity and an enormous sense of loss," Ms Lester told news agency AAP.
"I would have thought 50 years later I would stop weeping but there's still days I weep."
Despite years of counselling and reconnecting with her only child 20 years ago, Ms Lester, now 70, is still haunted by pain and regret.
Tuesday marks a decade since the state government publicly apologised to victims of forced adoptions.
Earlier this year, Premier Daniel Andrews pledged to provide support in the form of a $4 million redress, however it has not yet been finalised.
The funding will provide crisis counselling, as well as the option of integrated birth certificates which include the names of both the adopted person's natural parents and their adoptive parents.
A $500,000 hardship fund will be established to provide discretionary payments to mothers affected by forced adoption with exceptional circumstances, including those who are terminally ill.
A further $200,000 in funding will assist community groups to support applicants.
Ms Lester said it's just not enough.
"They're not [doing enough], they need to do something now," she said.
"I'm one of the youngest mothers of the forced adoptions. So as far as I'm concerned, they need to really step up, there are other mothers who are 80 and onwards and they need help. They need justice and recognition."
The $4 million in government funding was in response to a 2021 Parliamentary Inquiry into Historical Forced Adoption in Victoria, which found forced adoption practices were widespread during 1958 and 1984.
Tens of thousands of women who gave birth during this time had their babies forcibly removed and given up for adoption.
At least 40,000 adoptions took place during this time, many of which were subject to forced separation, however it's unknown how many exact forced adoptions occurred during this time.
A Victorian government spokesperson said the state government will be reaching out to advocacy groups, funded service providers, mothers, and other affected family members in the coming months to inform the development of the redress scheme.
"We acknowledge the immense grief and trauma caused by historical forced adoption practices and recognise the devastating impacts on people who endured these cruel practices many decades ago," a Victorian government spokesperson said.
"We can't undo what was done but we can recognise the harm that was caused and provide meaningful support – and that's exactly what we're doing."
