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Why SAAM Issues Public Statements

 

The Scottish Adult Adoptee Movement (SAAM) issues public statements to place adoptee evidence, rights concerns, and legal analysis into the public record.

For decades, adopted people have been spoken about but rarely listened to. Decisions affecting adoptees have been made behind closed doors, within systems that often exclude adopted people from consultation, scrutiny, and remedy.

Public statements are one way we correct that imbalance.

They ensure that:

• adoptee perspectives are formally recorded

• exclusions and safeguarding gaps are named

• inaccuracies are challenged on the public record

• survivors are not erased by silence or delay

Our statements are not reactions for attention. They are rights-based interventions, grounded in law, lived experience, and evidence.

The SAAM Adoptee Rights Campaign

 

SAAM’s work is grounded in a clear rights framework. Adoption is not a private matter of goodwill — it is a state-authorised legal intervention with lifelong consequences. Adopted people therefore have enforceable rights.

Our campaign is built around three core principles:

The Right to Know

 

Adopted people have the right to:

• full, unredacted records

• accurate information about their identity, origins, and legal history

• transparency about decisions made on their behalf

The Right to Be Known

 

Adopted people must be recognised as:

• a distinct group affected by state action

• individuals with specific risks, harms, and lifelong impacts

• rights-holders within safeguarding, inquiry, and policy frameworks

The Right to Autonomy

 

Adopted adults must have:

• legal standing in relation to decisions imposed in childhood

• access to remedy, review, and support

• the ability to challenge lifelong legal orders

Public statements are one way we advance these rights when formal systems fail to listen.

Why Public Statements Matter

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Adopted people are frequently excluded from:

• public inquiries

• safeguarding frameworks

• redress schemes

• policy consultations

• definitions of “care-experienced”

When this happens, harm is not only unaddressed — it is repeated.

Public statements allow SAAM to:

• document exclusions as they occur

• connect policy decisions across departments and jurisdictions

• ensure adoptee voices are not buried or forgotten

• provide a clear evidence trail for future legal and parliamentary scrutiny

They are part of a wider strategy that includes submissions, complaints, FOIs, and engagement with oversight bodies.

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A UK-Wide Perspective

Although SAAM is rooted in Scotland, adoption law and practice do not stop at national borders.

Our work covers all four nations of the UK:

• Scotland

• England

• Wales

• Northern Ireland

Adoption frameworks differ across jurisdictions, but the core issues are shared:

• permanence and irreversibility of adoption orders

• loss of identity and legal family

• inconsistent or absent post-adoption support

• limited or non-existent routes to justice

SAAM works with adoptees, evidence, and legal frameworks across the UK to highlight both common systemic failures and jurisdiction-specific gaps.

Our public statements reflect that wider landscape.

Our Commitment

SAAM is:

• adoptee-led

• evidence-based

• rights-focused

• independent of government and service providers

We issue public statements to ensure that truth is recorded, rights are asserted, and adopted people are not spoken over or erased.

Silence has never protected adoptees.
Public accountability is essential.