Influencing policy and legislation on diverse family forms

Credit: Julian Hochgesang/Unsplash

Susan Golombok has pioneered research on diverse family forms, challenging commonly held assumptions about these families as well as widely held theories of child development.

Advances in reproductive technologies and changing social attitudes are resulting in diverse family forms; lesbian mother families, gay father families, single mothers by choice, and families created by sperm donation, egg donation, embryo donation and surrogacy.

Golombok’s work has shown that children from these families experience high quality parenting and show low levels of emotional and behavioural problems.

She has actively engaged in policy discussions and contributed to policy and legislation changes in the UK, USA, France, Germany and Netherlands – a step towards recognition and equality for diverse family forms. The research has contributed internationally to policy and legislation on adoption, assisted reproduction and marriage equality.