ZCZC
BFF-30
AUSTRALIA-POLITICS-SLAVERY-RIGHTS-ORPHANAGE
Australia moves to curb ‘orphanage tourism’
SYDNEY, Nov 30, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Australia has criminalised the act of
falsely inducing children into orphanages as a form of slavery, in what is
believed to be the first move of its kind in the world.
Amid warnings that children in poor countries are being shipped into the
institutions to meet the lucrative demand for western volunteerism, a new law
has been introduced to tackle the issue.
The Modern Slavery Bill was passed by both houses of parliament on
Thursday and includes an explicit reference to “trafficking and/or
exploitation of children in orphanages.”
Under the new law, so-called “orphanage trafficking” will be treated as a
slavery and trafficking offence.
“Australia is the first country in the world to recognise orphanage
trafficking as a form of modern slavery,” said Paul Ronalds of Save the
Children Australia, a non-governmental lobby group.
It is estimated that around 80 percent of the eight million children in
orphanages worldwide have parents or family who could take care of them.
Sometimes children are sent away, with their parents believing they will
get a good education.
According to Save the Children, more than 50 percent of Australian
universities advertised orphanage placements as a volunteering opportunity
overseas.
Activists hope the legal change will cause Australians to more carefully
vet where they volunteer overseas.
BSS/AFP/RY/13:29 hrs