This thematic paper from ECPAT's Global Study on Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism highlights the risks of sexual exploitation of children associated with volunteering and voluntourism, including orphanage voluntourism. The paper defines the term "voluntourism" and outlines several risks connected with this practice, including:
1. Lack of appropriate regulations and supervision
2. Normalized irregular interactions with strangers
3. Imbalance of power
4. Violation of children’s privacy
The paper offers recommendations for addressing these issues, including calling on travel and tourism companies to "ensure that organizations that host volunteers have genuinely implemented child protection policies and procedures to guarantee the safety of children" and becoming a member of The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism. The paper also presents recommendations for civil society organizations and national authorities and highlights the work being done by organizations and initiatives such as ReThink Orphanages to end orphanage tourism and the institutionalization of children.
