Surge in Vic DNA testing to prove parentage amid affairs boom

Victorian children suspicious they are not blood relations of their parents, and dads worried the children they are raising may not be theirs, are increasingly turning to DNA testing for the truth.

Victorian children suspicious they are not blood relations of their parents, and dads concerned the children they are raising may not really be theirs, are increasingly turning to DNA testing to reveal truth.

Major Australian testing service Identilab said new research revealed a growing number Victorians feared they were being deceived about being biologically related to their parent or child.

“For most Victorians, they live their life feeling confident in their biological relationships. However, some Victorians are caught in a wave of uncertainty, with doubts about their biological ties to their parent or child,” Identilab founder and forensic scientist Kate Pippia said.

In Australia, a staggering seven in ten marriages experienced an affair, with one in five men feeling deceived as a result of their family dynamic, Ms Pippia said.

And a survey of 1000 Australians in June this year showed five per cent of parents and six per cent of children nationally thought they were victims of misattributed paternity, she said.

In Victoria, more than double the number of regional fathers than metropolitan doubted they were biologically related to their child, at nine per cent as opposed to four.

DNA testing to prove parentage is increasing.

But when it came to children doubting who their real parents were, more (eight per cent) of metropolitan Victorians had concerns, compared to six per cent of regional Victorians.

More than 92 per cent of the testing conducted by Identilab was to establish paternity, “whether it’s for peace of mind, family law, or immigration purposes”, Ms Pippia said.

“Families come looking to assess the biological relationship between an alleged father and child and seek answers to remove doubt and find the truth. We’ve seen the popularity of paternity testing rise, with it being more accessible and easier to do than previously. So people come to us looking for answers. I think people would be surprised how often a paternity test is required to prove a child and father are related,” Ms Pippia said.

It was estimated that more than a million Australians had experienced doubts over whether they were biologically related to their parent or child, she said.

“Unlike women who give birth, men do not have the luxury of knowing that the child is their own without DNA testing, so misattributed paternity can occur when a man is presumed to be a child’s father but is not,” Ms Pippia said.

“In fact, of those who have turned to DNA testing through Identilab, after questioning the paternity of a child, approximately 21.5 per cent were excluded as being the biological father.”

About 60 per cent of men and 45 per cent of women admitted to having an affair during the course of their marriage, she said.

A shocking number of Australians have admitted to having an affair.

Misattributed paternity could change a person’s life forever, create difficult relationships and

have lasting effects on all parties involved, Ms Pippia said.

“The majority of our customers are often very emotional and overwhelmed by the situation that they have found themselves in. It’s not unusual for us to spend 20-30 minutes on the phone with someone just listening to their story and offering kindness,” she said, adding those involved often needed counselling.

“It is very stressful to find yourself in a position where you are questioning whether your child is yours, or whether your parent is yours. A negative result can be received in a variety of ways. Some people are relieved, while others are obviously quite devastated.”

Originally published as Surge in Vic DNA testing to prove parentage amid affairs boom