Rescue, red tape, child abduction, illicit adoptions, and discourse: Intercountry adoption attitudes in Spain

Evidence of child abduction for intercountry adoption challenges our notions of altruism. The history of illicit adoptions and child abduction is presented with specific emphasis on Guatemala as a case example. Drawing on data produced in an ethnographic research, the analysis searches to elucidate...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International social work 2019-01, Vol.62 (1), p.198-211
Main Authors: San Román, Beatriz, Rotabi, Karen S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abduction
Adopted children
Adoptive parents
Altruism
Child abduction
Corruption
Discourses
Ethnographic research
Fraud
Intercountry adoption
International adoption
Rights
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Evidence of child abduction for intercountry adoption challenges our notions of altruism. The history of illicit adoptions and child abduction is presented with specific emphasis on Guatemala as a case example. Drawing on data produced in an ethnographic research, the analysis searches to elucidate how those involved in intercountry adoption in Spain (mainly adoptive and prospective adoptive parents) deal with signs of fraud and corruption. The results point out how these discourses usually dismiss the failures of the system and revolve around the idea of rescue. The rights of birth families – and even their mere existence – are usually absent in the discussion.
ISSN:0020-8728
1461-7234
DOI:10.1177/0020872817714314