Britain urged to tackle orphanage trafficking in anti-slavery fight

Kieran Guilbert - Reuters

The UK parliament held a debate on modern slavery and "several British lawmakers said they would call for the legislation to be updated to account for orphanage trafficking," according to this article from Reuters. Politicians and activitis alike are calling for Britain to recognize orphanage trafficking as a form of modern slavery in a revised law "to ensure funding and volunteers are not sent to unscrupulous institutions that seize children for profit."

The article includes a statement from Rebecca Smith, senior child protection advisor at Save the Children UK, saying "Supporting or volunteering in orphanages is contributing to a model of care that is harmful to children ... (it) is fundamentally flawed.” Activitis believe Britain has a responsibility to address this issue because it contributes a great deal of donations and volunteers that support orphanages, "from students going abroad and volunteer agencies to travel firms and faith groups."

Britain says it will review its 2015 modern slavery legislation in July. “We can contribute to the problem by supporting unhelpful forms of care through our funding or volunteering; in turn creating an orphanage industry and a ‘demand’ for orphans,” said opposition politician Barry Sheerman. “We mustn’t simply remove our funding ... but rather redirect it to better forms of care."