Adoptee Rights and Access to Records in Northern Ireland (Part II)

About this episode

The episode discusses the shortcomings of Northern Ireland's draft redress legislation regarding adoptee rights and the human rights framework.

Dr Alice Diver hosts a follow‑up LawPod conversation with Sharon, Maeve, and Brigid from Adopt NI, continuing the discussion on adoptee rights, truth recovery, and Northern Ireland’s forthcoming redress legislation. Building on Episode 1, the guests analyse how the draft bill fails to reflect the human rights framework promised in earlier reports and how lived experience has been overlooked in policymaking. They describe the gap between the Truth Recovery Report's human‑rights‑based recommendations and the bill now emerging: the exclusion of workhouse survivors; the omission of practices such as coercion, systemic separation of mothers and babies, and cross‑border adoption pathways; and the absence of a statutory right to personal records. Participants recount their frustration at being positioned as consultees only in appearance, with little genuine influence, and their exhaustion at repeatedly providing testimony that appears unread or unacted upon. The conversation highlights the lifelong impacts of forced separation, trauma, loss of identity, intergenerational effects, and the emotional labour required to obtain fragmented or redacted records. They stress the need for a…

People in this episode

Guests: Sharon, Maeve, Brigid

Topics covered

• adoptee rights
• truth recovery
• redress legislation
• human rights
• policymaking
• trauma
• identity
• accountability

Keywords

• workhouse survivors
• coercion
• systemic separation
• cross-border adoption
• victims’ commissioner
• mandatory access to archives

Mentioned in this episode

Products: LawPod

Places: Northern Ireland’s

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