Better Care Network, New York, USA; Law Futures Centre, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia.
Centre for Investigative Interviewing, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia.
Child Abuse Negl. 2024 Jun;152:106813. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106813. Epub 2024 Apr 23.
There is growing awareness that a proportion of children in orphanages have been recruited or transferred into the facility for a purpose of exploitation and/or profit. These children are often falsely presented as orphans to evoke sympathy and solicit funding. This process is known as orphanage trafficking. Although orphanage trafficking can be prosecuted under legal frameworks in some jurisdictions, including Cambodia, there have been limited prosecutions to date. One factor that likely contributes to a lack of prosecution is poor detection, yet the indicators of orphanage trafficking have not been considered by extant research.
The current study was conducted as a first step towards providing evidence-based indicators of orphanage trafficking.
Professionals who had identified or responded to cases of orphanage-based exploitation in Cambodia were interviewed. Participants included criminal justice professionals, investigators from civil society organisations, and child protection social workers.
Professionals' perspectives on how to identify orphanage trafficking were explored via in-depth interviews, and the data were analysed via thematic analysis.
The analysis revealed a distinct set of indicators that may be used to detect orphanage trafficking, including the operation of an unauthorised facility, orphanage tourism and volunteering, and an overt focus on fundraising.
The indicators revealed in this study point to the need for an effective and thorough monitoring system for orphanages, as well as adequate education and training of relevant personnel to aid in the detection of orphanage trafficking.
越来越多的人意识到，孤儿院中的一部分儿童是为了被剥削和/或盈利而被招募或转移到福利院的。这些儿童往往被虚假地描述为孤儿，以唤起同情并募集资金。这一过程被称为孤儿院贩卖。尽管孤儿院贩卖在包括柬埔寨在内的一些司法管辖区可以根据法律框架进行起诉，但迄今为止，起诉的案例有限。导致起诉不足的一个因素可能是检测不力，然而，现有的研究尚未考虑孤儿院贩卖的指标。
本研究旨在为孤儿院贩卖提供基于证据的指标方面迈出第一步。
对柬埔寨基于孤儿院的剥削案件进行识别或应对的专业人员接受了采访。参与者包括刑事司法专业人员、民间社会组织的调查人员以及儿童保护社会工作者。
通过深入访谈探讨了专业人员如何识别孤儿院贩卖的观点，对数据进行了主题分析。
分析结果揭示了一系列可能用于检测孤儿院贩卖的明确指标，包括未经授权的设施运营、孤儿院旅游和志愿活动以及明显侧重于筹款活动。
本研究揭示的指标表明，需要建立一个有效的、全面的孤儿院监测系统，并对相关人员进行充分的教育和培训，以帮助发现孤儿院贩卖。
