Adoption in Benin: between a structured legal framework and the weight of social taboos
Once considered a delicate, even stigmatized subject, adoption in Benin is today at the intersection between legal requirements and tenacious cultural traditions. Despite a structured legal framework that strictly frames the procedure, social perceptions and prejudices persist, often hindering the peaceful daily life of many adoptive families.
Although Benin now has a clear legal framework for adoption, this practice is still surrounded by silence, judgments and social reluctance. Between strict administrative procedures and socio-cultural burdens, adopting a child in Benin is a journey fraught with obstacles but also with hope. Indeed, for several years, the Beninese State has strengthened the legal framework governing adoption.
Law N° 2015-08 on the Child Code in the Republic of Benin governs the procedures for national and international adoption with the aim of ensuring the protection of the child. Benin is also a signatory to the Hague Convention, which provides an ethical and transparent framework for international adoptions. However, despite this legal arsenal, adoption remains little practiced in Benin. The administrative procedures, although supervised, are often long and demanding. Even worse, the real brake lies in the eyes of others.
A well-defined legal framework, but still little known…
Since the law n° 2015-08 of December 8, 2015, Benin has strengthened the legal mechanism on child protection, including specific provisions for national and international adoption. According to Reine AKODE, a social worker involved in adoption procedures, “the challenge is not the law, but access to information and support. Many couples, especially in rural areas, are even unaware that legal adoption is possible. They often go through family or customary arrangements, without guarantees for the child “, the specialist regrets.
Cultural representations still weighty…
The sociologist Parfait VIKOU provides important insights into the sociocultural dimension of the subject. Adoption contradicts the dominant ideology of filiation by blood. In some regions of Benin, the transmission of names, heritage and values is strictly linked to biological ties.
“An adopted child can be considered a foreigner even after years “, he said by adding that “however, the socio-economic challenges and the realities of child abandonment call for a review of these mentalities. It is necessary to raise awareness of the idea that parenthood can be a chosen and assumed social function, not only biological”.
Edifying testimonies…
Carole, in her forties, employed in a waste management company in Cotonou, shares her experience. “I have always wanted to be a mother. After several years of waiting and medical attempts, i chose to adopt.
The legal process was long but clear. What was more difficult was social acceptance. I was told that the child would never really be mine. However, for me, she is my daughter, without any ambiguity”. Same thing with Benoît, an entrepreneur in deep Benin.
After having adopted two orphaned boys following a mission, he evokes a double satisfaction. “I am proud to have brought them out of precariousness. But in my surroundings, I heard that I was endangering my heritage, that these children would betray me one day because they are not blood. I choose to believe in education and love, not in fate “.
These anonymous testimonies show that, despite the obstacles, it is possible to open one’s heart to a child who was not born of oneself but becomes one’s own through the force of love and commitment. Faced with traditions and judgments, these families chart a new path, that of an assumed, chosen and deeply human parenthood.
Changing mindsets…
Despite resistance, the view on adoption in Benin is tending to evolve. Awareness campaigns, the media coverage of inspiring journeys and the action of social actors contribute to breaking the silence around the subject. The younger generations, more open to alternative family models, could carry this change on a larger scale. Adoption in Benin therefore remains a subject that is both intimate and social, legal and emotional. In the meantime, each adoption remains an act of faith, commitment and courage, both towards the child and in the face of a society still divided between traditions and modernity.