A court in Nepal has recently found two men guilty of repeatedly raping three girls with autism who were in the men’s care at an orphanage in Kathmandu. The men both worked at the Bal Mandir orphanage, Rabin Shrestha worked as head of adoptions and Rabin Chalise volunteered as a fundraiser. Both have been sentenced to 16 and a half years imprisonment and must pay compensation to each of the victims.
The case came to the attention of authorities when the three girls, aged 13, 14, and 15, reported their complaints to a human rights group, Action for Child Rights International, which brought the case to the police in June. The verdict in this case sends a clear message to other orphanage employees throughout the country and highlights some of the problems with Nepal’s orphanage system, which has suffered several recent allegations of sexual abuse, corruption, and fraud. "Many orphanages here are unregulated and unregistered,” says activist Salina Tamang with Action for Child Rights International, “the government should draw up a serious action plan to monitor these institutions so such incidents are not repeated in the future."