My name is Lily Arthur, I am a victim of illegal and forced adoption.

During the 1950’s-1970’s, 150,000 young and mostly unmarried mothers had their newborns taken from them unlawfully in hospitals across Australia, and we have been fighting for justice ever since.

As we are approaching the 10th Anniversary of the national apology we are calling on the Federal and State Governments to commit to not only implementing redress schemes for the victims of unlawful and forced adoption.

We are also demanding a Royal Commission into the unresolved legal issues of past 'adoption' practices.

Illegal/forced adoption is a crime that was inflicted on children and their mothers.

Until recent years Australia’s history of illegal/forced adoption has been largely hidden from view. Unlawful adoption has always been a dangerous subject for politicians, as there was never any legislation to justify what was done to us at the hands of the state. Nevertheless, thousands of children were forcibly separated from their mothers, and the heartache never goes away.

Only in recent years have our stories started to be told. A 2012 senate inquiry revealed the true extent of the horrors committed during this period and for the first time, I was hopeful that justice was within reach, but sadly this has not been the case.

Ten years after former Prime Minister Julia Gillard delivered a national apology, we are still waiting for justice. Many of us are getting older, and the time is now to demand action.

A redress program provides victims with the opportunity to be compensated without having to take prolonged legal action. The state of Victoria has made great progress in implementing a redress strategy, and it’s time that all State and Territory Governments did the same. We need the Federal Government and the states to step up by implementing a national redress scheme.

If you agree that Australia cannot bury these crimes any longer, please sign this petition.

Thank you,

Lily

You can read more on my website.