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Kōrero: Adoption

Joss Shawyer, 1975

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Joss Shawyer, 1975

Activist and single mother Joss Shawyer campaigned for the rights of single mothers from the 1970s. She founded The Council for the Single Mother and Her Child in 1973 and was a foundation member of Jigsaw (established in 1976), which helped women find children who had been adopted out. Her 1979 book Death by adoption argued that social policies, practices and adoption law forced women to give up their babies.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Private collection

by Sandra Coney

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Anne Else, Adoption – From secrecy to openness, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/26060/joss-shawyer-1975 (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Anne Else, i tāngia i te 30 May 2011.