Full adoption in England and Wales and France

A comparative history of law and practice (1926–2015)

Bibliographic Data

ID11940656
AuthorsJean-François Mignot (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Jean‐françois Mignot (0000-0003-0707-761X, Laboratoire de Recherche Scientifique, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume41
Issue2
Pages142-158
Publication date2017-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAdoption & Fostering (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0308-5759 • E-ISSN: 1740-469X
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0308575917704551
OpenAlexW2740133049
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited18

Why do the British adopt far fewer children from abroad but more domestic children than the French? To examine this question, this article compares the history of adoption law and practice in France and England and Wales. Although these countries have had similar adoption laws since the 1920s, there have long been many more adoptions in England and Wales. This is partly due to the greater numbers of abused and neglected children being put forward for adoption in the UK. In addition, memories of the forced migration of children, coupled with heated debate over transracial adoption in the 1980s, cast doubt on the idea that intercountry adoption might benefit children. Consequently, local authorities give higher priority to the placement of children born in the UK with its system of open adoption. In contrast, French prospective adopters face a dearth of domestic children available for adoption and so turn their attentions overseas

Face (sociological concept · New england · Political science · Social science · Sociology · Child Welfare and Adoption · Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes · Law · Reproductive Health and Technologies

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