Displaying 1 - 10 of 24
Orphanage trafficking is a form of child trafficking, in which children are removed from their families, often under false pretences, and transferred or recruited into child care institutions where they often face various forms of exploitation for profit. When a child is trafficked in this way, their identity is frequently falsified so in documents they appear to be an orphan – a process known as ‘paper orphaning’. The exploitation of children in these circumstances ranges from sexual abuse to forced labour, begging, or being sold for illegal adoption or servitude. Some are trafficked for…
Orphanage trafficking involves the recruitment and/or transfer of children to residential care institutions for a purpose of exploitation and profit. It typically takes place in lower- and middle-income countries where child protection services systems are highly privatised, under-regulated, and primarily funded by overseas sources. In such circumstances, residential care is used prolifically and inappropriately as a response to child vulnerability, including a lack of access to education.
This study assesses and maps the legal, policy and procedural frameworks in both domestic and…
Abstract
This article compares and contrasts two humanitarian emergencies and their impact on Nepal: these are the Nepal earthquake in 2015 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It explains how each emergency has impacted children without parental care or at risk of family separation, with specific reference to orphanage trafficking, voluntourism, child institutionalisation and family preservation. In relation to each emergency, the article considers the role of disaster preparedness; the roles of the Nepal government, the international community and civil society; and the significance of one…
Abstract
Literature on orphanage tourism considers the motives of Western volunteers and the problematic nature of their compulsion to ‘help’ vulnerable children in the Global South. Orphanage tourism is also increasingly adopted into ‘rescue ideologies’ (Howard, 2016) and anti-trafficking/‘modern slavery’ campaigns. The perspectives of children involved, however, are missing from these discourses. This article draws on original empirical data to explore the narratives of young Nepali adults who lived in Kathmandu orphanages as children. Through these narratives, the article explores the…
Abstract
This article explores care leavers’ views and recommendations for practitioners and policymakers on the transition from leaving care to living independently in the community.
Seven young adults fully reintegrated through programmes in Kathmandu, Nepal, co-produced action research with 21 of their peers (aged 16–26 years). This article outlines how children and young people affected by child sexual exploitation experience community reintegration, and their views on the key issues reintegration services need to consider.
Findings explored boys’ and girls’ experiences of stigma…
This briefing paper has been compiled using information included in the Out of the Shadows Index and the ECPAT Country Overview for Nepal. The brief describes Nepal's score on the Out of the Shadows Index, which measured the country’s response to child sexual exploitation and abuse, including its assessment of Nepal's overall environment, legal framework, government commitment and capacity, and the engagement of industry, civil society, and media.
The brief also highlights the response of the Nepalese travel and tourism sector to sexual exploitation and abuse…
The child protection sector lacks a robust evidence-base conveying what effective support during the recovery and reintegration process for children affected by child sexual exploitation (CSE) looks like. This report starts to collate evidence on what appears to be important to children who have experienced sexual exploitation. Recognizing the current gaps in knowledge, this report represents a first attempt to start ‘connecting the dots’ between primary data and existing literature to help states and service providers better respond to the needs of children affected by CSE. This report…
In this video, Kate van Doore, founder of Forget Me Not and lecturer at Griffith University Law School, describes the process of 'paper orphaning,' a term coined to characterize how children are recruited and trafficked into orphanages to gain profits through international funding and orphanage tourism. The video was created for the 21-22 June 2017 Africa Expert Consultation for Violence Against…
Next Generation Nepal Country Director Martin Punaks talks about orphanage trafficking in Nepal, why orphanage volunteers may inadvertently be part of the problem and how you can be part of the solution through ethical volunteering and other ways of "giving back."
This document reviews UNICEF’s achievements in ensuring children’s protection in the 6 weeks following the devastating earthquakes in Nepal in 2015.