Northern Ireland Has Lowest Rate of Same-Sex Parent Adoption in UK

A new report has found that Northern Ireland has the lowest rate of successful adoptions for same-sex parents in the UK, writes the BBC.

Northern Ireland changed their laws in 2013 to allow for same-sex couples to adopt (they were the last part of the UK to do so). Since that time only 30 couples have applied and only 2 have been successful.

For contrast, in the rest of the UK 481 same-sex couples applied for adoption with 235 being successful. That’s a success rate of one in two, compared to Northern Ireland’s 1 in 15.

The Department of Health points out that adoption processes take several years in Northern Ireland and its possible there are many more applicants in the pipeline.

EJ Havlin, the Northern Ireland Director of Adoption UK, explains that because the law changed so quickly it might have delayed some adoption cases as well. The law was overturned in courts after a legal process, rather than passed in parliament like in the rest of the UK.

"Whenever this legislation first came in the changes happened almost overnight, so unlike the 'bedding in' period which happened in the rest of the UK, the changes overnight meant that social services needed to get some support and training," she said.

"This has been a real cultural change, so it takes time for that to be embedded."

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