Children Affected by Poverty and Social Exclusion

Around the world, poverty and social exclusion are driving factors behind the placement of children into alternative care. Families give up their children because they are too poor to care for them, or they feel that it is the best way to help them to access basic services such as education and health care. Discrimination and cultural taboos mean that girls, children with disabilities, ethnic minorities, children with HIV/AIDS and children born out of wedlock, make up a disproportionate number of children abandoned into alternative care.

Poor-quality alternative care leads to a vicious cycle of poverty and inequality. With limited family-based alternative care options in many countries, children often end up in institutional care. Already marginalized by poverty or stigmatization, they risk becoming further excluded from society, as they grow up separated from their families and communities. In the worst cases, inadequate or unsafe care standards expose them to neglect, violence and abuse. When they eventually leave institutional care, young adults may then struggle to reintegrate into their communities and face high rates of homelessness, unemployment, chronic poverty, depression and even suicide.

Greater political and financial commitment is needed to tackle the poverty and social exclusion that drives families to give up their children. This includes wide-ranging measures to combat poverty, discrimination and stigmatization, to change attitudes towards single parenthood and disability, and to adopt social policies promoting family empowerment and parenting skills. Greater priority must also be given to developing good-quality family-based care options, such as foster care and adoption, for the girls and boys who need alternative families.

The documents in this section examine the relationship between poverty, social exclusion and placement of children in alternative care.

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Why and How do Parents Secretly Abandon their Children? The psychosocial burden they went through: Qualitative case study in Gondar City, Ethiopia

Yassin Mohammed Yesuf, Adonawit Ayalew Bewketu, Habib Seid Ahmed , 19 May 2023

This study explored the lived experiences of mothers/fathers who secretly abandoned their children in Ethiopia.

Orphanage Trafficking and the Sustainable Development Goals

Kathryn E. van Doore, Rebecca Nhep, 01 Apr 2023

This article examines the intersections of orphanage trafficking, a form of child trafficking and modern slavery, and the sale and sexual exploitation of children with reference to the Sustainable Development Goals. It outlines the contextual challenges of these intersections highlighting the special protection needs of children residing in institutions and outlines how orphanage tourism and funding undermine care reform efforts of national authorities.

人道主义背景下自杀问题应对指南

Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (IASC MHPSS RG), 22 Dec 2022

本指导说明旨在支持项目实施者、协调员和其他人道主义行为者解决人道主义环境中的自杀和自残问题。它汇集了范围广泛的方法、工具、参考资料和案例示例。它是一种实用而简洁的资源，适用于所有类型的紧急情况、组织和部门。

Abordar el suicidio en contextos humanitarios: Directrices

Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (IASC MHPSS RG), 22 Dec 2022

Esta nota de orientación tiene como objetivo ayudar a los implementadores de programas, coordinadores y otros actores humanitarios a abordar el suicidio y las autolesiones en entornos humanitarios. Reúne una amplia gama de enfoques, herramientas, materiales de referencia y ejemplos de casos. Es un recurso práctico y conciso aplicable a todo tipo de emergencias, organizaciones y sectores.

التصدي لالنتحار يف األوضاع اإلنسانية

Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (IASC MHPSS RG), 22 Dec 2022

تهدف هذه المذكرة التوجيهية إلى دعم منفذي البرنامج والمنسقين والجهات الفاعلة الإنسانية الأخرى في معالجة الانتحار وإيذاء النفس في الأوضاع الإنسانية. إنه يجمع مجموعة واسعة من الأساليب والأدوات والمواد المرجعية وأمثلة الحالة.

Решение проблемы самоубийств в контексте гуманитарной деятельности

Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, 22 Dec 2022

Это руководство направлено на оказание поддержки исполнителям программ, координаторам и другим гуманитарным организациям в борьбе с самоубийствами и членовредительством в гуманитарных условиях.

La Lutte Contre le Suicide dans les Contextes Humanitaires

Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (IASC MHPSS RG), 22 Dec 2022

Cette note d'orientation vise à aider les responsables de la mise en œuvre des programmes, les coordinateurs et les autres acteurs humanitaires à lutter contre le suicide et l'automutilation dans les contextes humanitaires.

IASC Guidance, Addressing Suicide in Humanitarian Settings

Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (IASC MHPSS RG), 22 Dec 2022

This guidance note aims to support programme implementers, coordinators, and other humanitarian actors in addressing suicide and self-harm in humanitarian settings.

The Education Background of Looked-After Children Who Interact With the Criminal Justice System: December 2022

Mathieu Stafford, Simeon North, Holly Bathgate - Office for National Statistics, UK, 01 Dec 2022

This analysis conducted by the UK Office for National Statistics explores the education and social care background of care-experienced young people in England who were imprisoned at any point up to the age of 24 years.

Foster Children in Care Due to Parental Incarceration: A National Longitudinal Study

Maria Morrison, Brett Drake, 13 Nov 2022

Using national child welfare data, the authors examined a subset of foster children (7%) who entered care due to parental incarceration in the U.S.