BASW issues unreserved apology for social work’s role in historic forced adoption

The British Association of Social Workers has issued a formal and unreserved apology to mothers and adopted people affected by historic forced adoption, acknowledging the role played by predecessors of the modern social work profession in separating unmarried women from their babies.

An estimated 185,000 unmarried mothers and their children were affected by forced adoption practices between 1949 and 1976, during a period when women who became pregnant outside marriage could face intense pressure from the state, churches, families and professionals to give up their babies for adoption.

The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) has now acknowledged that moral welfare workers, who were predecessors to today’s social workers, were among those who pressured some unmarried mothers to relinquish their children.

The organisation said mothers had children removed without their informed consent, causing trauma that in many cases has continued throughout the lives of mothers, adopted people and their wider families.

BASW’s interim chief executive, Professor Samantha Baron, said the profession needed to recognise the injustices that had taken place and accept its historical responsibility.

“As a reflective profession, it is only right that the social work sector recognises these injustices and apologises unreservedly,” she said.

The apology follows a motion proposed by BASW’s Black Country Branch ahead of the organisation’s 2026 annual general meeting. Members subsequently backed an unreserved formal apology on behalf of the profession for its role in historic forced adoption.

BASW was itself established in 1970 through the amalgamation of several organisations. Those organisations included the Moral Welfare Workers Association, whose members worked extensively with unmarried mothers and were involved in adoption during the period now under examination.

Research into the history of the profession has examined how the religious, ethical and social attitudes surrounding moral welfare work influenced the treatment of unmarried women.

For many women, becoming pregnant outside marriage during the post-war decades carried considerable stigma. Some were sent to mother and baby homes, while pressure could come from institutions, professionals and families to have their children adopted.

The experiences were not identical and BASW has stressed that its apology is not intended as criticism of adoptive parents or of every social worker working within the laws and policies of the period. It also recognises that many adoptions were successful.

However, the association said the profession must acknowledge the long-term consequences for mothers whose children were taken from them and the pain experienced by adopted people.

The apology represents a significant change in the profession’s public acknowledgement of its history. In a 2023 statement, BASW warned that the term “forced adoption” could be problematic when applied broadly across historic and contemporary adoption practice, while recognising that some historic practices would now be considered abusive.

Research and campaigning by mothers, adopted people and academics has continued to bring greater attention to the role played not only by governments and religious institutions, but by professionals involved in the adoption system.

Earlier this year, the UK Government formally apologised for the state’s role in historic forced adoption prac

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