This article from Spiegel Online explains how orphanages in Cambodia often exploit children, recruiting them as "tourist attractions" for visitors. "Most of the families that send their children to such facilities are mired in dire poverty," says the article. "Even public schools cost money in Cambodia and the homes cover the expenses and some offer additional English lessons. For the parents, these institutions serve as a kind of free boarding school where, in some cases, the children are even able to earn money." The article touches on some of the impacts that institutionalization has on children, stating that these residential care institutions "are producing a generation of traumatized children." The article also describes how tourism, donations, and volunteers fuel this orphanage industry, and the efforts being made to address the issue, including the inclusion of orphanage trafficking in the Australian Government's Modern Slavery Act and the work of the ChildSafe Movement, among others.
