This month’s featured image is by Paul Brian Tovey, an adult adoptee who was abused by his adoptive parents as a child. Paul is Researching Reform’s Artist In Residence, which we consider an honour.
Paul now campaigns for adoptees to have the legal right to revert back to their birth identities.
Paul’s paintings reflect his experiences as an adoptee including the effect of his forced adoption on his mental health.
October’s painting is titled, “Enter the Dragon,” which symbolises support for the adoptee community in the form of a ‘truth dragon’. Speaking to Researching Reform, Paul said:
“In the effort to highlight more Adoptee pain and unmet needs which point in themselves to remedial measures, I had some help in designing a new pilot survey which tested whether or not “global adoptee” experience pointed to problems.
In the 2021 UK survey (which was made up of 7 questions) we saw 95 UK adoptees give responses and some showed large amounts of unmet needs for therapy help. We also picked up that 42% were child abused inside their experiences of adoption and 50% wanted revocation eased legally to leave their adoption altogether.
The new 2022 global survey went wider to see what was happening with other adoptees in other countries. The shock is just as bad in the 2022 survey from 304 global respondents as it was from the 2021 survey which had 95 UK Respondents.
A preliminary report of the latest survey will become available because I am mindful of the efforts adoptees put into the survey and I really think they need to see something in summary form. Because the 47 Questions generated hundreds of comments I will carefully examine those for any accidental identifiers and do more follow-up reports. Some questions generated enough comments to be justified as a survey in themselves.
I am an artist and I cope with seeing so much pain by drawing matters and recording them inside an “inner-scape”, where things are bravely faced and are seen to be “Inner-scapeable”. I draw the tears others cannot cry sometimes, but I do.”
animatomdobbiegmailcom said:
Powerful image to show how broken people can be made by a terrible system.
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Dr Manhattan said:
My Son now 20 tried to speak of his experience in council Care for 4 years. he was released from their chains in Dec 2018. his new video on youtube has had a strike this morning re photos he included of his two younger brother who he has not seen for almost 8 years due to social workers and the foster carer.
there is no doubt that his social media content is being watched every day.
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Dr Manhattan said:
Nice art work Paul. 🙂
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dandymanyahoocouk said:
Same here. Not seen P in 8 years as a result of incompetent SW’s. Rather than apologize since it backfired. It is covered up
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Ian Josephs said:
Dr Manhattan, how can we access your son’s video??
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Dr Manhattan said:
Hi Ian.
This is the link to my Son’s Video.
Youtube have not removed it yet.
Go to 11.40 mins to hear what he has to say.
The show he refers to is the CH4 Tv program entitled “Mr Drew’s school for boys”
which we took part in during the summer of 2013. the program aired on national tv in March 2014.
All three children were taken into care 8 months later.
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Ian Josephs said:
AN INTERESTING CHARACTER !
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Dr Manhattan said:
My Son’s video was removed by youtube today. reason given, privacy violation.
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