Destinations known | In outlawing orphanage trafficking, Australia exposes voluntourism’s great hypocrisy
- Travellers hoping to visit or volunteer at orphanages are actually supporting child trafficking
- Australia passes Modern Slavery Bill to outlaw orphanage tourism, places the practice in global spotlight
The season of extremes is upon us, when we indulge to excess and then atone for such extravagance by giving time or money to charity. Well, some of us do.
Those driven by holiday-induced guilt to embark on the cathartic trip of a lifetime, however, should think twice; “helping out” at an orphanage in Southeast Asia or elsewhere could be one of the worst decisions you make. In fact, it could soon be illegal (if you are Australian).
On November 29, Australia passed the Modern Slavery Bill, becoming one of the first countries in the world to recognise “orphanage trafficking” – whereby children are placed in shared homes for the purposes of exploitation and profit, often to accommodate the expectations of “voluntourists” – as a form of modern-day slavery. When it comes into effect on January 1, the legislation will effectively criminalise what has become known as orphanage tourism.
According to ReThink Orphanages, a global coalition of NGOs, including Better Care Network and Save the Children UK, there are an estimated 8 million children living in institutionalised residential care globally. Four out of five of these children have parents or family members who could look after them, but find themselves in orphanages because visiting and volunteering at such institutions have created a demand for “vulnerable children”. Many children are handed over by families who believe their progeny will receive a better education and be well fed and cared for. The reality is often a far cry from what was promised.
Speaking to the Thomson Reuters Foundation in April, Australian senator Linda Reynolds called orphanage tourism the “perfect 21st century scam”, taking advantage of well-meaning travellers in search of the “sugar rush” of doing good.
Britain, the United States and Australia are major contributors to orphanage tourism. A 2016 ReThink Orphanages report found that 57.7 per cent of Australian universities advertise orphanage placements for students. The same report argues that to support orphanage tourism is to support child trafficking, something that the earnest voluntourist is almost certainly against, even if they ain’t woke to it … yet.
At the very least, the Modern Slavery Bill has placed orphanage trafficking under the spotlight. In the meantime, Intrepid Travel – a Melbourne-based tour company that led visits to orphanages until May 2016, when it realised the error of its ways – has created a list of “child protection tips” for travellers, in which it advises against visiting orphanages and schools, and warns tourists not to give gifts or money to child beggars. It also encourages mindfulness when taking photographs and visiting impoverished communities.