Woman Charged For Leaving Her Baby in Drain in Australia Needs 'Compassion' Says Social Worker

A mother who was charged for leaving her newborn baby boy in a drain in Australia will need "compassion, not vilification." The president of the Australian Association of Social Workers believes the case of the woman in western Sydney was unusual.

According to Professor Karen Healy, Australia has fewer than 10 cases of total abandonment every year. She said the recent case was unusual because unwanted babies are generally left in hospitals, outside churches, or in areas with high traffic so other would-be parents might find them.

Healy urged people to give the mother compassion and not resort to "shaming" before more details about her circumstances are known. She said unusual cases of abandonment may involve a combination of factors like drug addiction or mental illness. She believes the woman in Sydney deserves a "compassionate response" and finds it unfortunate to see the public's first reaction as "vilification."

The Guardian reported that the case has renewed the debate of establishing baby safe havens which are already in some parts of the U.S. and Europe. The havens allow babies to be turned over to authorities with no criminal charges filed against the parent.

However, Healy believes putting up safe havens was not the answer to the problem. Previous reports indicated that parents often returned to the baby safe havens to claim their child or leave older children behind in countries where such havens are found. She said the existence of baby safe havens would violate the United Nations convention on the rights of the child. The convention states that children have the right to know their parents' names and nationalities.

Healy said there was no guarantee that the mother would leave her baby in a safe haven. She speculated that the woman may have been in a hospital before she gave birth. Social workers in hospitals are important in her case because they can help identify women who are at risk and vulnerable. She suggested that hospitals should offer outreach services.

Healy found it strange that the mother who left her baby in the drain had been charged while others who abandoned their children in recent cases were not. She said child abandonment was not considered a criminal offence.

The baby remains in a serious but stable condition in a children's hospital. He was found by cyclists in a 2.5-metre drain near the M7 motorway at Quakers Hill last Nov. 23.