A Call for Recognizing Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR)

Unveiling the Challenges of International Adoptees: A Call for Recognizing Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR)

International/intercountry adoption is as a consequence of limited SRHR principles in the birth country, intertwined with a myriad of emotional and psychological hurdles for mention. Generations and generations inside our community have fought to reveal corruption and to address demands from the Western world, which are primary reasons why international adoptions have been made possible. It's been and in many ways is a  fight for our rights—to become ourselves and to be free from narratives that simply are not ours. Survival.

The need to advocate for ourselves is not only problematic from a mental health perspective but also from an identity-formation perspective, where sexual identity is a big part. At the heart of these challenges lies the profound impact of unwanted separations and disrupted attachment experiences, which nobody needs to argue against, but what I want to highlight is that the absence of trust and secure attachment to the society we are raised in is as a significant problem as the lack of a sexure attachment to our parents and caregivers. 

Being raised in a hostile environment will always affect how we feel in our bodies and how we navigate the world. The same applies to establishing a secure attachment with our primary caregivers, which paves the way for or hinders the development of meaningful interpersonal relationships. And how we feel in our bodies will impact how we feel in intimate and sexual connections, how could it not?

To highlight one issue that affects attachment dynamics, interpersonal relationships, and mental health, I want to remind you that racism is one of them. Despite growing awareness, earlier research predominantly focused on adoptees in infancy, childhood, or adolescence, leaving a significant gap in understanding the long-term implications for adult adoptees.

The area of SRHR is not as well explored or researched as other disciplines, and the invisibility of the challenges adoptees encounter regarding relationships and intimacy has been neglected—delayed, or perhaps more accurately, stuck.

From my perspective, II see a strong intimate connection between our reproductive health and broader social determinants of health. My work includes intimacy coaching for adult adoptees, education for professionals, and consulting on adoptees' sexual and mental health challenges.

I invite everyone reading this blog to reflect on how much your intimate and sexual connections play a role in your life. Are there adoptee-specific challenges that you believe are missing from the overall conversations about SRHR?

Are you “fine,” reliving the sexual stereotypes others impose on you, rarely being asked for your consent regarding their ideas about you?

I’m not.

Identify the stereotypes that you don’t appreciate or that simply… are not for you (anymore?), and ask yourself: What am I longing for?

Anna Linde

Certified Sex Coach

Somatic Sex Educator

Sexual Health & Mental Health Specialist