Voici un article sur l'adoption par couples LG en Afrique du Sud, un des pays qui permet l'adoption par des couples de même sexe. Si la situation n'est toujours pas parfaite, il y a néanmoins des adoptions internes par des couples LG (lisez ce qui dit Pam Wilson de la Johannesburg Child Welfare Society). Il y a une organisation à Bruxelles - Amarna - qui travaille avec ce pays, et aussi avec Johannesburg Child Welfare Society, mais qui continue à dire qu'il n'y a pas de possibilités pour des couples LG en Belgique d'adopter en Afrique du Sud. Il est vrai que la priorité est toujours donnée aux couples résidant en Afrique du Sud, mais ceci n'empèche pas les adoptions internationales quand il s'agit de l'intérêt de l'enfant. Alors, je ne comprends toujours pas pourquoi est il possible pour un couple hétéro d'adopter en Afrique du Sud à travers Amarna, mais pas pour un couple homo...
Cela mérite être questionné.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureaucracy blocks child adoption by homosexuals
By Lesego Tlhwale (BTM intern) on March 23, 2009

Behind The Mask
a website magazine on lesbian and gay affairs in africa
info@mask.org.za

SOUTH AFRICA – 23 March 2008: While shelters are bursting at the seams with children in need of care, bureaucracy, by children’s institutions, is hindering many homosexual parents from giving love to those who need it most.

The present economic climate has, according to child adoption agencies, also seen a drop in the number of applicants wanting to adopt, as people are uncertain about the future.

Social workers’ own prejudices, laws that allow biological parents to refuse adoption of their children by homosexuals and red tape around placements to homosexual families are said to be major challenges that keep gay people, wanting to adopt, very last on the list of prospective parents.

Lisa Sonnekus of Baby Ventures, an agency that offers information on various options available to gay parents interested in starting a family, says the majority of gay women couples often opt for artificial insemination and In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF), with a smaller percentage wanting to go the adoption route.

“There are various reasons for this, but mainly because many adoption agencies and biological parents still prefer heterosexual households for child placement.”

She however says male homosexual couples look at adoption more often due to all the complications with surrogacy.

Meanwhile Pam Wilson, Adoption Supervisor at Johannesburg Child Welfare Society, says her institution accepted same-sex couples into screening since the early 90s.

“We did our first same-sex adoption in 1995 and since then, we have successfully placed about 50 children with same-sex couples in South Africa.”

Successful parenting is not dependent on one’s sexual orientation according to Wilson, “and there is no evidence to suggest that same-sex couples do not make good parents”, she says.

Wilson believes that society is made up of many different kinds of families, and that same-sex couples are just another kind of family.

Concurring with Wilson and Sonnekus, Derrick van Tonder of gayparents.co.za, which arranges surrogacy procedures to gay parents wanting to start a family, says that the screening process for gay people is exactly the same as that of heterosexuals.

However, the only difference, according to Sonnekus is when a social worker needs to give their professional opinion on the placement of the child.

“This [opinion] is in general connected to their own perception of the gay community.”

Explaining quite a lengthy process of adoption Wilson says, “We send an information sheet to the applicant to fill and return, then invite the applicant to an orientation meeting which is aimed at providing information and training on all aspects of adoption.”

Applicants are then given official application forms to complete, afterwards they are allocated their own social worker who will take them through the screening process.

“The screening process involves interviews with the social worker, a full medical examination with a doctor on our medical panel, marriage or relationship assessment, a psychological assessment, three references and a police clearance certificate. After successfully completing the screening process, the applicants are put on a waiting list for a child”, says Wilson.

Asked whether prospective parents diagnosed with terminal illnesses such as HIV and Aids are allowed to adopt children, Wilson said, “We need to know the health status of our adopters as we obviously want our children to have a family who will be there for them as they grow up. It would be highly irresponsible of us to place a child with parents who were ill and at risk of dying due to their health condition.”

She however said that Johannesburg Child Welfare Society does not discriminate against anyone who has any particular health condition including HIV positive applicants.

“But by knowing their status, we can at least know how they are monitoring their health, whether they have access to medication etc. The same would be true of someone who has uncontrolled diabetes. We would expect them to get their illness under control and be regularly monitored by a medical practitioner.”

It looks like prospective parents, wanting to start a family, should be financially stable too as, according to van Tonder, adopting in itself, may cost up to R25 000 while surrogacy costs as high as R250 000.

An article on Child Welfare Information Gateway website, titled The Social Worker’s Dilemma advices social workers and adoption agencies to base their placement decisions on their findings during the evaluation process and not the sexual orientation of the candidate.

In the article, Denise Goodman, a consultant and trainer in Ohio in the US says she firmly believes that social workers need to have a holistic understanding that includes finding out answers about homosexuality.

“I counsel workers to ask homosexual applicants where they are in their individual development. Have they recently come out? Are they comfortable with their self-image and with being gay? Having a positive self-image will provide a model for an adopted child, I want to know about family support and how those who are important in their lives view them and their idea of adopting.”

“I ask questions about the stability of their relationship and try to see how committed they are to each other. Do they have wills? Have they bought a home? Do they share finances? Once you know more about their situation, you can help them access appropriate resources and connect them with other gay or lesbian adoptive parents”, Goodman said.

Whether prospective adopters are homosexual or heterosexual, Wilson says children need security, love, acceptance, nurturance and consistent care in order to grow and develop into fully productive members of society, “and this is best achieved by a child being part of a family.”

Ta question est tout à fait légitime Luis, et mérite d'être investiguée.
Il faudrait pouvoir obtenir des informations sur les cas des adoptions effectuées par Armana, et vérifier si le manque d'adoption par des couples de même sexe trouve à chaque fois bien sa source dans le refus initial des parents biologiques à voir leur enfant confié à ces couples, et non dans l'attitude d'Armana...

Comment pourrait-on savoir cela ? Les dossiers sont ils publics -consultables ?

Joris

Les dossiers individuels sont confidentiels, c'est normal. La question c'est de savoir si Amarna accepte des dossiers de couples de même sexe. La réponse c'est non.

Pour qu'un couple candidat à l'adoption puisse être accepté ou rejeté par la mère biologique d'un enfant légalement libre pour adoption en Afrique du Sud (une pratique aussi habituelle en Belgique), il fait d'abord avoir son dossier accepté par l'agence d'adoption concernée. Si Amarna ne donne pas aux couples de même sexe la possibilité d'être considérés par ses contacts en Afrique du Sud, les couples de même sexe ne sont point considérés comme des familles potentielles, et ils sont donc ni acceptés ni rejetés, juste bloqués parce que Amarna ne les laisse même présenter le dossier.