Damaged by Disgrace: report on involuntary relinquishment and adoption of babies in the Netherlands
For decades, unmarried girls and women in the Netherlands were forced to give up their newborn children. The impact was profound and persists to this day for the mothers, fathers, relinquished children, and the adoptive families in which they were raised.
Pressure to give up newborn children
Unmarried girls and women who became pregnant between 1956 and 1984 were often put under great pressure by their parents, family, social workers and society to give up their baby. Due to the prevailing views at the time on decency, resulting in shame and disgrace, as well as fear of socioeconomic repercussions, distance from the child was often seen as the only option. Psychiatrists added to this pressure by interpreting being pregnant out of wedlock as a disorder that almost by definition made responsible parenthood impossible.
Enormous harm has been done to the group of girls and women affected by the decisions made about them. Being relinquished or adopted can have major consequences over a lifetime. The biological parents and the children affected had little or no say, let alone any direction, in any of the decisions surrounding relinquishment and adoption. This also caused great harm.
These are the main findings contained in the report Schade door Schande (Damaged by Disgrace) that was written by the independent Committee Domestic Relinquishment and Adoption 1956-1984 (CBAA). The report was presented to State Secretary for Legal Protection Teun Struycken on 19 June 2025. The Minister of Justice & Security had commissioned the study at the end of 2022.
Read the report 'Schade door Schande' and underlying sub-studies.
Contributions by Leiden researchers
Two researchers from Leiden University were involved in the study. Mariëlle Bruning, Professor of Children and the Law, was a member of the CBAA and wrote part of the report. Evelien Walhout, Assistant Professor of Economic and Social History, led a sub-study project to examine historical paper sources in various archives.
Recommendations
The most important conclusion of the study is the need for recognition, support and the safeguarding of individual direction in important life matters. To this end, the CBAA makes the following recommendations:
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Include the topic of domestic relinquishment and adoption in the 'Dutch Historical Canon’.
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Give birthmothers a voice by allowing them to add a ‘mother’s letter’ to their files.
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Promote the expertise of social workers and care providers and ensure that help is accessible.
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Provide help in searching for parentage information and ensure it is preserved and accessible.
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Offer mediation and restorative intervention in situations of emotional pain and conflicts of interest.
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Give parents and children a voice in decisions about family life as much as possible.
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Guarantee freedom of choice regarding pregnancy.
More information?
The report has received considerable media attention. Additional background information can be read, for example, in the interview in de Volkskrant newspaper with the chairman of the CBAA, Micha de Winter (€, in Dutch).