Mother finds solace in helping others through forced adoption trauma
- trushali Kotecha
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Wed 14 May
Louise Kirk was forced to give up her young son in the 70s. (Supplied: Louise Kirk)
In the 1970s, Louise Kirk became a mother at 16.
But instead of relishing the joys of motherhood, her baby was adopted by another woman against her wishes.
Ms Kirk is one of thousands of women whose babies were taken in Western Australia's forced adoption era, and 50 years later she is still coming to terms with the trauma.
"No thought was given to my dignity, [I was] treated like a cow really," she said.
"Everyone walking around in their white suits and jackets, and everyone just treating me like I was a bad girl."
Waking up without her baby
After giving birth, Ms Kirk remembers waking up in a hospital bed without her baby.
"I was never able to hold him; he was just taken away,"
she said.
Ms Kirk said it was later agreed she could take her son home, where social services paid regular visits.
Eventually, an appointment was set for her to speak to a woman about adoption.
"The girls in the office said, 'We'll look after [your son] while you go in to see the lady,'" she said.
Ms Kirk said the meeting that ensued was "scary".
"She was knocking her knuckles on the table and telling me how many girls like me waste her time and everybody's time and the best thing for him is to go and be adopted out," she said.
Ms Kirk said she was coerced to sign paperwork.
"I walked out of that room and the bassinet was gone; I still had the nappy bag and my son was gone," she said.
Ms Kirk's baby had been taken to a residential home for unmarried mothers and wards of the state.
"I'm a mother one minute, with a little baby who was about six months old, and now I've got no baby,"
she said.
Supporting other mums
A recent inquiry into forced adoption in WA unearthed many similar stories to Ms Kirk's.
It has been estimated that tens of thousands of babies were removed from their mothers across Australia from the late 1930s to the early 80s.
Louise and her husband Ian have founded a Bunbury support group. (ABC South West WA: Bridget McCarthur)
Ms Kirk eventually reconnected with her son when he was in his 20s.
While still dealing with the trauma of the forced adoption, she has found some solace in connecting with other women like herself.
Her experience pushed her to form a support group in Bunbury, gathering with other women whose children were also taken from them.
"All of these women know exactly where I'm coming from,"
she said.
"They're all really, really, really amazing women … that come from all sorts of incredible backgrounds."