Study finds only 16 per cent of the world allows same-sex couples to adopt
Over a ten year period, the world has increased from four per cent to 16 per cent
By Steve Brown
A new study has found that only 16 per cent of the world allow same-sex couples to adopt.
Over a 10-year period, there has been an increase percentage of countries allowing same-sex couples to adopt a child, rising from four per cent to 16 per cent.
However, there is still a long way to go and new data from RedLetterDays show that 27 out of the 169 countries allow same-sex couples to adopt, meaning 142 that don’t.
Of the 51 countries in Europe, only 16 allow same-sex parents to legally adopt, meaning it’s illegal in the 35 remaining.
Other countries where it’s illegal include Russia, Poland and Greece and countries like Thailand, Japan and the Philippines class joint adoption for same-sex couples as illegal.
Some of the countries where same-sex marriages and partnerships are legal – including Chile, Mexico and Taiwan – do not allow joint adoption, the study revealed.
Although the number is still small, just 10 years ago, only four per cent of the world accepted same-sex parenting with the six countries being South Africa, Israel, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.
Same-sex adoption in the UK has been legal in England and Wales since 2005 while Scotland legalised it back in 2009 followed by Northern Ireland – which still does not accept same-sex marriages – back in 2013.
The study argues that with Northern Ireland legalising same-sex adopting in 2013, the entire UK did not fully accept same-sex parenting until that year.
Here are the 27 countries that legally accept joint adoption for same-sex couples and when:
