Child Exploitation

Child trafficking is a form of child abuse. It is the exploitation of children for economic or sexual purposes, and includes the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of a child for exploitation. Children may be sold, illegally adopted, forced into early marriage, recruited into the armed forces, pushed into prostitution, or trafficked to work in mines, factories, or homes. In such environments they are exposed to extreme forms of abuse and are denied access to basic services and the meeting of their fundamental human rights. Trafficked children often lack basic legal status and support networks, making their condition virtually "invisible."

Children without parental care, living in poverty, and those in high risk environments such as war affected regions, are all highly vulnerable to trafficking. Conflict and post conflict environments pose the greatest risk to children since the breakdown in family and social systems, the increase in poverty, and large numbers of troops present, are all factors which make sexual and economic exploitation of children more common.

Prevention is crucial to reduce the incidence of children affected and includes the registering of all displaced children, and their temporary care until verification and family reunification activities can take place. All children, caretakers, and communities should be educated on the risks to children and protective steps to ensure children do not become separated and exposed to abuse and exploitation. Where possible, unaccompanied children should be placed in regulated and protective family environments such as kinship or foster care.

Governments, the police, border controls, teachers, and all organizations responsible for protection must work together to prevent trafficking, identify those children at risk, advocate for their safety, and prosecute those responsible. This includes awareness raising for communities, institutions, and personnel working with vulnerable groups, such as armed forces, peacekeepers, and humanitarian workers.

Support services for children who have been trafficked should include medical, psychosocial, family reunification, and legal elements, to facilitate the reintegration of the child into the community and to enable educational and economic opportunities which are in the child’s best interests.

This section of documents examines the nature of trafficking in more detail, and includes policy and practical information to prevent and respond to child exploitation.

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Implementing the Legal Framework for the Prosecution of Orphanage Trafficking: A Cambodia Case Study

Rebecca Nhep, Dr Kate van Doore, 30 Mar 2023

This study was conducted as a part of a multi-stage, multi-country project designed to enhance the identification, prosecution, and prevention of orphanage trafficking crimes. It was the second of four stages to be conducted in Cambodia as one of three jurisdictions included in the study.

Implementing the Legal Framework for Orphanage Trafficking: A Cambodia Case Study (A Summary of Findings)

Rebecca Nhep, Dr Kate van Doore, 30 Mar 2023

Étude historique sur les pratiques illicites dans l’adoption internationale en France // Historical study on illicit practices in international adoption in France

Yves Denéchère, Fábio Macedo, 13 Feb 2023

This study examines international adoptions by French people in more than twenty countries from 1979 to 2021. Researchers analyzed thousands of diplomatic files from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the subject and found reports of various illicit practices in the process of adopting children.

Gauging Indirect Stakeholder Sentiment Towards Orphanage Tourism on Twitter

Soyoung Park, Soyoung Park, Sarah Font, Ashley Schroeder, Michael Lin, Andrew J. Mowen, 2023

This global study examined 106,979 tweets posted by 34,370 unique users from 2010 to 2019 to understand the sentiment of those indirectly involved in orphanage tourism and its change over time.

Child Labour and Education in Humanitarian Settings: Background Paper

The Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies, 12 Dec 2022

This paper attempts to highlight some of the key issues regarding child labour and education in emergencies.

An Exploration of Poverty as a Consumption Object: Voluntourist’s Stories from an Orphanage in Nepal

Amira Benali, Olga Kravets , 01 Sep 2022

This paper examines the understanding of poverty emerging in voluntourists’ accounts of their first-hand experiences of poverty alleviation. Based on the ethnography of an orphanage in Nepal, the authors show that despite voluntourists’ good intentions and even (self-)criticism of the volunteer tourism approach to poverty relief, their accounts tend to consolidate rather regressive ideas about poverty.

Time to Act – Toolkit for Practitioners: Gender-Transformative Programme Strategies for Addressing Child, Early and Forced Marriage and Unions in Asia-Pacific

Plan International Asia-Pacific Regional Hub, 01 Apr 2022

This toolkit developed by Plan International Asia-Pacific Regional Hub serves as a practical compendium of programming guidance for practitioners, and contributes to accelerating efforts to end child, early and forced marriage and unions (CEFMU) by 2030, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Orphanage Trafficking and International Law

Kathryn E. van Doore, 23 Dec 2021

This book explores the process of orphanage trafficking as a form of child trafficking in international law, examining the contexts in which it occurs and providing a comprehensive, holistic approach to addressing the issue as a form of trafficking

Orphanage Trafficking in International Law

Launch: Cycles of Exploitation – Links Between Children’s Institutions and Human Trafficking Report

LUMOS, 14 Dec 2021

Watch the launch of a ground-breaking report: Cycles of Exploitation: The Links Between Children’s Institutions and Human Trafficking. The report makes recommendations for breaking the complex cycles of exploitation that trap children and let traffickers go free.

Residential Care: U.S. Giving and Missions

Barna Group, 01 Nov 2021

This report contains the findings from a nationally representative study conducted by Barna Group of U.S. Christians to better understand U.S. Christian beliefs around and support for orphanages, children’s homes and other forms of residential care for children. It includes data on the amount of funding given to residential care, as well as visits and short-term missions to orphanages.