Shocking report highlights link between orphanages and human trafficking

A new report from the Better Care Network (BCN) warns donors not to contribute to international orphanage organizations that may facilitate human trafficking. The BCN defines “orphanage trafficking” as a form of trafficking “in which children are recruited and trafficked into institutions for the purpose of financial gain and other forms of exploitation.” The study noted that the practice is most prevalent in unregulated institutions, which can hold as many as 80 percent of “orphans” worldwide. The problem is particularly prevalent in countries such as Myanmar and Cambodia. In such situations, individuals falsify a child’s details by presenting false birth certificates, parental death certificates, and parental abandonment forms in order to meet qualifications for residential care facilities (RCF).

Many of these children have at least one living parent and live in extreme poverty, with parents being persuaded to send their children to institutions with false promises of better education and a better life. Traffickers can then make money from well-meaning donors who sponsor children to these institutions without realizing that the institution is not registered with the government. Children can also be sexually exploited. “Numerous cases were reported where clientelism was manipulated to facilitate the sexual exploitation of children in RCFs. In every case involving sexual exploitation, directors were identified as perpetrators who engaged in sexual crimes or procured children for child sexual exploitation,” the study said.

The study included interviews with 24 qualified social workers, 10 of whom worked in Myanmar and 14 in Cambodia. One participant noted how RCF directors can be involved in the program. “In these orphanages, children are subject to the will of the director. When the director uses the orphanage as a business, the rights of the children are violated,” noted one worker. Another noted that children are often taken from stable families. “Directors who want to make a profit from running an orphanage use clientelistic relationships to recruit children from stable middle-class families as part of their strategy, because they do not exhibit challenging behaviors like children who have experienced trauma. It is easier for the directors to achieve their goals with these children and maintain the false appearance of an orphanage that helps disadvantaged children.”

A spokesperson for Rebecca Nhep, senior technical advisor at BCN, noted that Christians, who spend $2.5 billion annually on residential care around the world, may be particularly susceptible to unknowingly financially supporting human trafficking. The spokesperson explained that despite good intentions, volunteering and providing resources can only further motivate unscrupulous agencies. “The more well-meaning international donors and volunteers give their time and resources to orphanages, the more incentive unscrupulous orphanage administrators have to recruit children from vulnerable families. Instead, our resources could be spent on community strengthening services that help keep families together,” the spokesperson said. The Christian PostThe spokesperson also stressed the importance of Christians and families being aware of such arrangements.