Mothers subjected to forced adoption of babies can apply for $30,000 compensation in Victoria

Sheryl Johnson, second from left, and Glen Rattenbury, second from right, are among an estimated 3,500 Victorian mothers whose babies were taken in forced adoptions. Photograph: Victorian government

More than 50 years have passed since Glen Rattenbury’s baby was taken away from her at birth but that memory is “as clear as day”.

“I didn’t even get to see him after a 35-hour labour,” she said. “I could hear the nurses saying, ‘No, that one is earmarked for adoption.’ And they took him away.”