Adoption is a lifelong process

Lynelle presents that adoptees need informed, compassionate and lifelong support as they navigate identity, belonging and the complexities of living between two worlds.

Belonging: The Lifelong Question Many Adoptees Cannot Answer

Lynelle discusses why so many intercountry adoptees struggle to feel they belong? A powerful personal reflection on identity, family, race, loss and finding belonging.

Child of their Time, Film Review

Lynelle reviews Child of their Time, a documentary exploring estrangement, male adoptee voices, adoptive fathers, family pain, apology and the need for support.

Adoptee Fear of Being Alone

A Sri Lankan adoptee Jonti reflects on abandonment trauma, the fear of losing family, and healing through therapy, peer support and community connection.

Adoptee Suicidality and Living with the Exit Sign

A personal reflection on adoptee suicidality, identity, abandonment and hope, exploring how adoption can shape mental health while choosing, each day, to stay.

Conversations Across Adoption – Part 6

Adoptee Lynelle and adoptive parent Kristin reflect on truth, accountability, grief, and whether honesty can create deeper connection within adoption.

Why Hague Convention States must take responsibility for  post adoption costs

Lynelle argues Hague States must address post-adoption costs, regulating services, ensuring accountability, and preventing exploitation of adoptees.

Love, Relationships, and the Impact of Adoption

Jonti reflects on how adoption trauma shaped his relationships, emotional reactions, and journey toward growth.

Emaye Adoptees Home in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Beti Skehill, Ethiopian adoptee raised in Australia, returns to her homeland and shares about the wonderful support from Emaye Adoptees Home.

Australia’s History and Silence on Illicit and Illegal Intercountry Adoptions: A Record of Inaction

Australia’s silence on illicit and illegal intercountry adoptions and ICAV’s 20-year fight for truth, justice, and recognition of adoptee rights continues

Self Reflections

Hannah reflects as a Russian Asian intercountry adoptee on identity, belonging, loss, and the emotional complexities of adoption.

What happens after an adoption investigation?

Lisa shares about the challenges and realities adoptees face after national adoption inquiries and public debates becoming toxic.

Letter to Adoptee Youth

Jonti reflects, looking back over what has shaped his life as an adoptee and how he's ended up incarcerated, in prison, for a serious crime.

The most invisible adoptees

Lynelle raises awareness of those intercountry adoptees who are incarcerated, an unheard voice.

Black Lotus

Jonas Haid shares his artwork Black Lotus created and inspired by his own story of adoption from Sth Korea to Germany.

Addressing Sexual Abuse in Intercountry Adoption

ICAVs newest Perspective Paper on Sexual Abuse experiences of intercountry adoptees helping to elevate their voices and advocate for much needed supports.

Adopted from Moldova

Jacky shares about growing up with fragmented memories of their birth country Moldova and adjustments to fit in with life and family in the USA.

What do I want from my adoptive parents?

Lynelle shares what she would have wanted from her adoptive parents in response to the fraud and human rights abuses in her adoption.

A formal apology for an illegal intercountry adoption

A historic day in Guatemala with an apology to a family who were torn apart by illegal intercountry adoption. English translation provided.

The Pain is Bearable

Soorien shares about the bearable pain of grief and loss she lives with as a Korean intercountry adoptee raised in the Netherlands.