First monument for Britain's forced adoption scandal - but still no apology for survivors
Survivors of Britain's forced adoption scandal have marked the first public monument in the UK recognising the "immense suffering" of unmarried mothers and their children for decades in post-war Britain.
The unveiling at the former site of Rosemundy Mother and Baby Home - which is now a hotel - in St Agnes, Cornwall, was attended by mothers, adult adoptees and campaigners, some whom had travelled across the country to mark the occasion.
Between 1949 and 1976, an estimated 200,000 women and girls were sent away to institutions run by the church and state, which were places of shame and secrecy, with many coerced into having their children adopted.
Lyn Rodden was one of these women.
She was 19, pregnant and had recently split up with her boyfriend when she was sent to Rosemundy Home, with the belief she would recieve support there.
What she experienced in the grounds of the picturesque 18th century Georgian house, surrounded by woodland and quaint cottages, still haunts her to this day.
Ms Rodden, now 88, described the home as a "slave camp" where they were "forced to do laundry for the staff and villagers" and scrub the flag stones in the building whilst heavily pregnant.
Retracing her steps with ITV News, she described how every Sunday she would be "marched up the hill to church" with the other mothers, who would all be "dressed in tabards to show we were unmarried".
"The villagers would shout things like 'whore' and 'prostitute' at us as we passed by," she said.
"We weren't seen as human, dogs were treated better than us. It was Dickensian. It was an evil place, no kindness, just punishment."
Ms Rodden, who delivered a tearful speech at the unveiling of the plaque, was forced to give up her baby son, Mark.
For 50 years, all she had to remember him by was a blurry photo the size of a postage stamp. The pair were finally reunited after Mark tracked her down as an adult.
Dr Phil Frampton, who organised the event and was born at the same home in 1953, said the plaque offered survivors the "opportunity to develop a sense of healing".
"Today's unveiling in commemoration of the survivors and victims of the Rosemundy Home was incredible and beyond our best expectations," he told ITV News.
"Some birth mothers came from across the south of England and one adult adoptee flew in from her home in Portugal. The intense emotion of the survivors ... their relief, tears of joy and sense of healing, was there for all to see."
Dr Frampton spent his childhood in care, describing the mistreatment and racism he faced growing up as "cruel".
He has been fighting for decades for recognition of his experience and for a public acknowledgement of what his mother, who died aged 32, went through.
Speaking after the plaque unveiling, he said: "I feel proud of the women and adoptee survivors, and incredibly pleased at the thought that hundreds of thousands of affected families will today have more than a glimmer of light at the end of one long, often dark, tunnel."
Survivors and campaigners are calling on the government to formally apologise for the state's role in institutions like Rosemundy Home.
"Why is this five letter word so hard for the government to say?" Ms Rodden said. "Sorry. Why is that so difficult?"
In 2021, an inquiry by the Joint Committee of Human Rights concluded that the state bore ultimate responsibility for the suffering inflicted on vulnerable women and their children, calling on the government to issue an official apology. Four years later, survivors are still waiting.
"The government's failure to act on the forced adoption scandal raises huge questions about where social justice is going in this country," Dr Frampton added.
The group Movement for an Adoption Apology (MAA) echo these calls, and also want specialist support for those affected including trauma informed counselling services, help with reunions and tracing as well as easier access to historical records.
Campaigners from MAA were in attendance at Saturday's event, which included a speech by one of it's leaders Diana Defries, who spoke of an urgency needed due to the age of the victims and survivors.
'I will fight for some measure of justice, but there are people who can no longer do that and we're very conscious that people are dying,' she previously told ITV News.
A spokesperson for the government said: 'This abhorrent practice should never have taken place, and our deepest sympathies are with all those affected.
"We take this issue extremely seriously and continue to engage with those impacted to provide support.'
In response to our investigation into historic forced adoption, the Church of England said: 'We are deeply saddened to hear these painful and distressing accounts of women and families who have been affected by mother and baby homes, including those with connections to the Church of England.
"To those who have suffered, we once again offer our heartfelt sorrow and regret. While such decisions may have been considered appropriate by many at the time, society now recognises the profound and lasting impact they have had on so many lives.
"We are committed to learning from their experiences and invite anyone who feels they have been harmed or affected by their time in any CofE affiliated homes to come forward.'
In 2016 the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales apologised "for the hurt caused by agencies acting in the name of the Catholic Church".
Cardinal Vincent Nichols acknowledged "the grief and pain caused by the giving-up of a child through adoption", and added: "The practices of all adoption agencies reflected the social values at that time".
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