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In this editorial, Ian Forber-Pratt, editor of this tenth anniversary edition of the Institutionalised Children Explorations and Beyond, gives an of alternative care in Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.
Introduction:
Over the past decade, the South Asian region has witnessed remarkable efforts in reforming child protection systems from institutions as the first resort to providing a wide range of family-based.
This tenth anniversary edition of the journal gives a real, raw, and…
In this letter to the editor, the authors express their support for the continued use of “baby hatches” in China. According to the authors, baby hatches were introduced in China in 2011. Many of the abandoned infants have birth defects or disabilities. Due to financial pressure, some of the baby hatches were closed in 2013 and the government is considering closing them down. The authors argue, however, that the closure of baby hatches will not end the practice of child abandonment and will, in fact, put infants at greater risk. Baby hatches, they say, offer a safe place for infants,…
In this joint statement, Karin Hulshof, UNICEF Regional Director East Asia and Pacific and Maalla M'jid, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children express their support for the Joint Statement of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Social Welfare and Development – Mitigating impacts of COVID-19 on vulnerable groups in ASEAN, which highlights the vulnerability of children, the need to reach them with both social…
In this opinion piece for the Hindustan Times, Lalita Panicker calls for the inclusion of children’s rights and security as a fundamental pillar in India's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to reopen the economy, noting that "there are several things the government can do, including strengthening systems to find family members of children orphaned or stranded as a result of the virus. That should be the first option before considering moving children to a State-run facility."
Panicker writes that the pandemic will leave behind orphans in India and that it will leave…
This dispatch from Human Rights Watch calls on Armenia to invest less in institutionalization and more in community-based services for families. "In recent weeks," says the author, "Armenian authorities said they opened several criminal investigations into the illegal adoption of over 30 children by foreign families. Several Armenian orphanage directors and other officials have been implicated in the alleged crimes, supposedly for financial gain." The dispatch also refers to a report by Human Rights Watch from 2017 which uncovered that "due to the lack of services to help families…
This opinion piece by Vageshwari Deswal in the Times of India makes the case for promoting and strengthening foster care in India. According to the article, "foster care remains a neglected area in our country" despite the "horrifying tales of institutional abuse of children [ in India]." The author calls on the State to "provide financial support as well as incentives to people opting as foster parents" and states "we all need to join hands and remove the stigma associated with foster children."
In this opinion piece, the Washington Post Editorial Board sheds light on the separation of children from their families in the Xinjiang province of China, where "thousands of minors from the Uighur and Kazakh ethnic minorities have been involuntarily separated from their families and sent to orphanages and boarding schools, where they are being taught to abandon their native languages and Muslim faith for Mandarin Chinese and the Communist Party."
According to the article, it is estimated that 1 million people have been detained in "political reeducation camps." A report from AP…