Adoption social workers’ perspectives on same-sex couples’ right to adopt in Greece

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the perceptions of adoption social workers in Greece regarding same-sex couples’ right to adopt. All 15 participants stressed that they always take the child’s best interest into consideration when assessing prospective parents; however, very different interpretations were evident regarding what this best-interest principle entails if a same-sex couple were to be the prospective adoptive parents. Four participants expressed their full support for same-sex adoption, four were firmly against it, while the rest focused on expressing their reservations. Implications for social work practice and social work education are discussed.

Keywords:

• Adoption
• attitudes toward same-sex couple adoptions
• same-sex couples
• same-sex parenting
• social workers

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 A process by which a partner, who is not biologically related to the child, can adopt their partner's biological or adoptive child without terminating the first legal parent's rights.

2 Rainbow Families of Greece is an NGO focusing on LGBTQI+ parents and their families as well as on parents of LGBTQI+ children.

3 Joint adoption allows both members of a couple (to adopt a child at the same time, creating legal ties to both parents in a single step).