Displaying 61 - 70 of 194
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
Millions travel annually for short-term international service trips (STIST). These trips often involve volunteering with vulnerable children, including those in residential care (ex. orphanages). Though a prevalent practice, little research exists regarding how volunteers are prepared and what activities they engage in. The goal of the present study was to provide data on pre-trip preparation, in-country activities, and how these impacted volunteer perceptions of preparation and trip satisfaction. Participants (N = 353) answered questions about their experience with…
COVID-19 triggered unprecedented disruption on a world-wide scale. Governments enforced far-ranging public health measures, including stay at home orders, curfews and travel restrictions. These measures have had direct and indirect impacts on the provision of residential care for children and have forced residential care institutions (RCIs) to confront the sustainability and effectiveness of institutional models of care.
This study was a small-scale piece of qualitative research that involved 21 semistructured interviews with founders, funders, and directors of RCIs across 7 countries. It…
ABSTRACT
This paper examines the lived experiences of children who interacted with tourists in a performance-based orphanage in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The orphanage was perceived by poor Cambodians as the only opportunity for their children to access food and education and a place to care for children when parents migrated for work. In recent years, however, orphanages in the majority world have come under increasing international pressure because many are associated with children’s rights abuses. As a result, the Cambodian Government committed to closing many orphanages and reintegrating 30…
Abstract
Adoption, kinship care, and foster care are the oldest known forms of alternative care in India. Whilst these are recognized as the most appropriate forms of care today, institutional care has become the most dominant form of care in India in the last 100 years, although it is meant to be ‘a measure of last resort’. As in most countries, childcare institutions in India cater for children up to 18 years old. The sudden withdrawal of support at 18 leaves these young people facing heightened challenges and poorer outcomes on the journey to independence, not only because of…
One of the most important goals of out of home placements is to reduce vulnerability and to enable well-being in the long term. This article hermeneutically reconstructs biographies decades after leaving-care to understand the impact of residential care experiences on selected dimensions of care-leavers’ well-being, that were discovered in the data material. For this article three analytic areas were selected from the core of the narratives of former care leavers: Social networks, parenthood and state interventions. The selected findings on long-term outcomes presented here are based on a…
In April 2019, the Better Care Network, on behalf of ReThink Orphanages USA, commissioned the U.S.-based policy consultancy, ChildFocus, to begin documenting the ways in which the United States supports and perpetuates overseas orphanages. The following report lays out the results of this preliminary mapping exercise based on: an analysis of existing data; a literature review of U.S government publications and investments; a review of non-profit organizations and foundation activities; an analysis of key supply chains and stakeholders; and the identification of existing data gaps. The…
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…
This presentation was delivered by Marinus van IJzendoorn at a 18 November 2020 meeting of the Evidence for Impact Working Group, a working group of the recently launched Transforming Children's Care Global Collaborative Platform. The aims of the presentation were to present evidence of the harmful impacts of institutionalization on children, demonstrate some of the benefits of deinstitutionalization for getting children back on track, and raise questions about gap-year volunteers working in orphanages. Click the 'Settings' icon to view this video with French or Spanish subtitles. Access the…