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"Rotabi, Karen Smith"
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Altruistic Exploitation: Orphan Tourism and Global Social Work
Despite the abundant scientific evidence demonstrating the benefits of family-based care for children and the damages brought on by institution-based care, the social work profession continues to endorse and engage in practices that promote the latter. This is particularly true through orphan tourism and orphan volunteerism— short- and longer-term forms of providing aid to residential facilities caring for children. Using educational tours to orphanages, fundraising and service projects, and academic internships based in such facilities, the profession contributes to the perpetuation of institution-based care and forms of exploitation. Based on an exhaustive review of the global literature and utilising an innovative theoretical framework of 'altruistic exploitation', the authors explore the ironic juxtaposition of benefits and harms associated with orphan tourism to the various stakeholders. Volunteers are often exploited in fulfilling their altruistic motives while at the same time engaging in potential exploitation of the very children they aim to serve. Authors further examine social work implications in the policy, practice and research arenas, and provide examples and recommendations in preventing family separation, promoting family-based alternative care and empowering communities.
Journal Article
Identifying and Addressing Risk in the Implementation of Alternative Care Policies in Cambodia
Propelled by a commitment to the rights of children, Cambodia is moving forward with family-based alternative care initiatives that build on existing efforts to strengthen the child protection system. This short human rights in action article take a critical approach to the translation of policy to practice and highlights risks involved with haste, outcomes measured in numbers and unrealistic timeframes, and rapidly transforming practice with nascent investment in a country’s capacity to assess and respond to the real needs of children and families within their communities. The importance of continuing collaboration between government and civil society, building workforce capacity and gatekeeping initiatives is discussed as essential to address challenges while strengthening responses to vulnerable children and families. We conclude that less haste and more capacity building are important to mitigate against risk and make eight recommendations supported by collaborations between government and civil society to strengthen the system.
Journal Article
Building an Effective Child Protection System in India: Integrating a Rights-Based Perspective in Social Work Education Within a Strategy of Developing Professional Association
The urgent need to strengthen the child protection system in India is presented in the context of the Integrated Child Protection Scheme and relevant juvenile justice legislation. Although the whole system is discussed, from national to local levels, the emphasis is on systems development with a comprehensive social work education response. Included are recommendations to develop a professional association of social work educators and the need for national accreditation of social work education in India. A multi-system analysis with a child rights orientation of child protection in India is presented. Future steps are recommended including the role of the development sector to help align child protection systems, social work education, and a professional association.
Journal Article
Ethical Guidelines for Study Abroad: Can We Transform Ugly Americans into Engaged Global Citizens?
Study abroad has become a common experience for American social work students. However, there is little guidance for facilitation of such courses in an international context. As a result, there is a risk that students and facilitators can perpetuate the privileged and ‘Ugly American’ image. Providing guidance for prevention of such mistakes, the authors present a conceptual model for international learning, based on an ethical framework founded on personal values and supported by traditional ethical principles and values. Included are the pillars of social justice and human rights, community capacity, dignity and worth of the person, self-determination, boundaries, competence, facilitated learning in a safe environment and integrity. Finally, consciousness-raising as professionals, respectful engagement in context, and intercultural competence are discussed.
Journal Article
Does the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption Adequately Protect Orphaned and Vulnerable Children and Their Families?
The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, designed to protect the best interests of the child in intercountry adoption, has been signed by 83 nations. We evaluate both the strengths and the weaknesses of the Convention in achieving this purpose and also in protecting a second vulnerable population, birth families. A case study example of the United States’ implementation of the Hague requirements reveals several weaknesses with respect to non-Convention countries as sending nations, financial oversight, and oversight of foreign collaborators. International birth families, especially birth mothers giving consent to an adoption, are often vulnerable because of a lack of power and resources, as well as different cultural understandings of the nature of family and adoption. We conclude that in order to protect vulnerable children and birth families, individual sending and receiving countries need to supplement the Hague Convention with specific, contextually appropriate laws and regulations.
Journal Article
Lost in Translation
According to Margaret Lombe and Alex Ochumbo, close to 90 percent of assistance to orphans in Sub-Saharan countries has been provided by traditional family networks.5 Similarly, Madhavan notes that \"despite high rates of maternal mortality in Africa, due to the strong extended family system, orphans usually have been willingly and relatively easily adopted by other family members. \"28 Unethical practices linked to the establishment and operation of orphanages, recruitment of children into those homes, and the process of adoption and associated financial gain were found to be closely linked.29 Many factors of vulnerability associated with poverty and HIV in Uganda have contributed to family breakdown and an ensuing increase in the number of children being separated from family and/or placed into residential care.30 However, the majority of children living apart from their biological parents are living with relatives (at least three million, according to 2011 data.)31 At the same time, since the early 2000s, there has been an increase in the number of orphanages, with a significant boom in the years 2003-2012.32 Before 1990, there were less than 30 orphanages, and by 2003, that number had increased to 88, with a concentration in the northern conflict areas-perhaps a result of civil war.33 A 1998 survey found over 2,900 children living in orphanages, with poverty being the main reason for placement, and at least 95 percent of these children had living parents or relatives.34 While it is difficult to pinpoint trends occurring in exact years, the MGLSD (Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development) investigated and found an explosion in orphanages by 2012, with an estimated 600 mostly unregistered and concentrated in central regions. According to a 2017 article, the increase of ICA by 400 percent in Uganda between 2010 and 2011 was also related to the drastic reduction in available children for ICA from Ethiopia and Russia.37 Furthermore, concerns have been raised that the number of registered adoptions does not account for the number of children leaving the country. According to a Voice of America article, \"in 2012, 680 children left the country, while only 227 are accounted for in the adoption process.
Journal Article
From the Evidence of Violence Against Children to a Prevention-Oriented Response in Malawi: Planning for Social Services with a Public Health Model for Social Work Engagement
Globally, violence has long been considered a serious and persistent social problem that is often presented as a public health concern. In the past decade, violence has received greater attention in terms of social interventions, especially using a public health model of social programming. A recent survey on violence against children is presented, using Malawi as a case example. This evidence is applied to a primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention framework for programming, with an orientation to social worker as leader in social policy, social intervention planning, and service delivery. Four opportunities for engagement are presented: (1) community building, (2) early identification of violence, (3) social casework with a strong aftercare approach, and (4) program development. Training of the social service workforce is finally considered, with recommendations for core professional skill areas for learning and capacity building.
Journal Article
Regulating Commercial Global Surrogacy: The Best Interests of the Child
Concurrent with the decline in intercountry adoption, there has been an increase in commercial global surrogacy over the past decade, but no international law yet exists to reconcile conflicting national laws and protect the interests of infant/child, surrogate mother, and commissioning parent(s). Previous discussion has focused on the vulnerability of the surrogate mothers and insufficient attention has been given to the best interests of the child, despite the fact that some children have been left stateless for years as a result of conflicting policies. Using the principles of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, social workers and policy makers should advocate for the development of international law to regulate commercial global surrogacy in order to prevent children’s rights violations and act in the best interests of the child.
Journal Article
Global Surrogacy, Exploitation, Human Rights and International Private Law: A Pragmatic Stance and Policy Recommendations
The number of global surrogacy arrangements increased exponentially over the last decade, and the rise in the practice has led to concerns over issues such as social justice, exploitation, and human rights abuses. Currently, there are no international regulations or guidelines regarding global surrogacy arrangements, and in some countries where the practice is prevalent, i.e., India, there is limited national regulation or oversight. Global surrogacy is a complex issue that includes questions related to morality, parentage, the natural mother–infant bond, and the complexities of inequalities in a globalized world that interface with a multi-million dollar industry. The purpose of the paper is to present global surrogacy dynamics written in a manner to help the reader understand this complex phenomenon, including a discussion of the associated problems and ethical dilemmas. The USA and India, two contrasting global surrogacy destination countries, are presented as cases, and some unique matters related to surrogacy in each country are emphasized to highlight the issues. Human rights instruments and international private law are discussed to frame global surrogacy regulation including the rights of the child and the rights of women. The analysis is concluded with pragmatic policy recommendations oriented to some of the practices necessary to regulate global surrogacy arrangements in a fair and consistent manner, while maintaining that ultimately the voices of all involved in global surrogacy contracts, and most especially the surrogates themselves, need to be included in further discussions of the issue.
Journal Article