There are an estimated eight million children residing in orphanages, or residential care facilities, globally and it is estimated that four out of five of these children are not orphans. It is well documented that many of these children are taken from their families by recruiters and sold into orphanages for the purpose of profit. These children are known as “paper orphans”. There is no formal legal academic research available on how international law regards the displacement from family and subsequent construction as an orphan. This article provides a legal account of the movement of the child from the family to the orphanage, and considers whether this movement can be categorised as child trafficking under international law. The major point of contention as to whether paper orphans are considered trafficked is whether they experience a form of exploitation that is included in the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. This article examines the forms of exploitation that have been documented as being experienced by paper orphans and argues that the process of paper orphaning meets the current interpretation of the definition of trafficking.

Orphanages are a common child protection response to humanitarian crises spurred on by media and NGO depictions of the disaster orphan. Yet, decades of research attests to the harm that orphanage care can cause. Driven by aid funding, orphanages are often sustained long after the recovery phase. In recent years, research has highlighted the links between orphanages, exploitation and modern slavery, particularly orphanage trafficking. This paper examines how the perpetuation of the disaster narrative sustains orphanage care post-disaster which heightens the risk, and exposure, of children to modern slavery, and makes suggestions for strengthening humanitarian crises responses to protect children.

Orphanage Trafficking in International Law explores the process of orphanage trafficking as a form of child trafficking in international law, examining the contexts in which it occurs and providing a comprehensive, holistic approach to addressing the issue as a form of trafficking. In doing so, this book establishes the method and process of orphanage trafficking as an issue of international concern. It reconceptualises the activity of orphanage tourism as a demand driver for child trafficking and a form of exploitation, and makes recommendations for how countries where orphanage trafficking occurs, as well as countries that contribute to orphanage trafficking via funding and volunteers, should tackle the issue.

The juxtaposition of domestic and regional responses to child trafficking and migration is clearly delineated in the context of South East Asia due to the proximity of countries and relative ease of access across the region. This ease of access has led to well established migration flows, or routes, leaving the region split between source countries and destination countries. It is well documented that migration occurs intra-regionally from less developed countries to more developed countries, and that a substantial number of children are making this move. 1 Based on this, this

Various studies have been published on the occurrence of orphanage trafficking in Nepal. These studies have focused on how orphanage trafficking occurs but have not investigated how orphanage trafficking is responded to from a legal perspective. This article analyses the legal framework for prosecuting orphanage trafficking in Nepal. It considers the available legislative frameworks for pursuing prosecution and makes recommendations for Nepal to reform their anti-trafficking law to include orphanage trafficking and to align with international law.