Gay couples lead adoption applications in Malaga province

The profile of people registering to adopt a child in Malaga has changed greatly in the past decade. Ten years ago there were practically no same sex couples that started the procedures to adopt. Now, these account for 75 per cent of the requests that reach the child protection system.

«Right now it is couples made up of men who are mostly offering themselves as adoptive families,» explains the delegate of Social Inclusion, Youth, Families and Equality of the Junta de Andalucía, Ruth Sarabia.

This trend coincides with a decline in adoption applications nationally. From 193 requests in 2011 to a total of 70 in 2022. In little more than a decade, applications have dropped 63.7 per cent.

The decline is even higher in international adoption applications. From 2011 to 2022 these have plummeted by 89.3 per cent, going from 84 couples who offered themselves 12 years ago as adopters to nine last year, the lowest in history.

«The drop in international adoptions began to be noticed as a result of the 2008 crisis, adding to this that the prospects for national adoption are better, since they involve fewer procedures and a shorter waiting time, as well as being less expensive», stated Sarabia.

Several factors explain the drop in Malaga. The economic crisis of 2008 and the recent pandemic, as well as job insecurity and skyrocketing inflation. A fall in the birth rate has also been registered, with 400 fewer babies born in 2021 and 1,048 fewer than in 2019. Advances in the technology and availability of help offered to people struggling to conceive have also had an effect. For same sex male couples, adoption can be the most accessible option to fulfil the dream of having a child.