Children NOT commodities!
From Ellie Finkelstein, Freedom United
“Orphanage Industrial Complex” ─ This disturbing trend whereby tourism and donations, intended as “orphan rescue”, commodify children and spur the “production” of “orphans”, resulting in child exploitation and trafficking.[1]
─ Kristen Cheney, expert in humanitarian intervention for children
On this International Child Protection Day, I wish I could tell you that orphanage trafficking was a thing of the past, but sadly, it isn’t. We desperately need people like you to help us stop volunteer tour operators from facilitating the exploitation of children through their tourism packages.
End orphanage child trafficking
Undeterred by the sharp decline in the number of orphans, the number of institutionalized childcare homes has increased by 75% in the last decade, most of which are in tourist hotspots.[2]
Vulnerable children enter institutions with forged parental death certificates or paperwork attesting to abandonment and are “coached to pose as orphans in the presence of volunteers.” They are then trafficked out of the same institutions into other forms of exploitation.[3]
Orphanage trafficking is internationally recognized as a form of modern slavery. This heinous practice is perpetuated by the demand created by orphanage volunteering. Despite this, some volunteer tour operators continue to offer these placements, fueling the cycle of trafficking and exploitation.
With the increasing number of childcare institutions in tourist hotspots, we must act now.
Take action now
We know we can end this form of exploitation because we have done it before.
When Global Vision International, African Impact, Go Overseas, and Plan My Gap Year offered these placements, the Freedom United Community mobilized, and it worked – they acted to counter this unscrupulous business.[4] But the fight is not over until all tour operators stop promoting placements in orphanages.
Sign our petition today to dismantle this harmful industry that fuels the trafficking and exploitation of children in orphanages.
In solidarity,
Ellie and the team that supports the Freedom United community
| Ellie Finkelstein Campaigner and News Editor, Freedom United |
[2] https://www.cyclesofexploitation.wearelumos.org/
[4] https://www.freedomunited.org/our-impact/orphanage-trafficking/
