AUSTRALIA
Case Study
Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds
CSC Senator for Western Australia
Australia became the first country to recognise this type of exploitation in its Modern Slavery Act (2018).123 Here, Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC describes how her work contributed to achieving this pioneering legislation.
I first learned about orphanage tourism during a Gates Foundation sponsored parliamentary visit to Cambodia in 2016 with Save the Children. I was shocked and horrified to learn that many orphanages exploited the good intentions of Australians and other Western volunteers through the trafficking of children to be used as tourist attractions.
Today, many millions of children globally are trapped and exploited in the most insidious ways. Australians would never allow our own vulnerable children to be exposed to busloads of foreign tourists – so why are we rushing to support the institutionalisation of children in other nations? Simply because we are told they are ‘poor’.
I returned home from Cambodia determined to alert my colleagues and community to this heinous practice and turned my mind and efforts to stopping orphanage tourism.
Big change never comes easily. It took time, advocacy and networking. I wrote to schools, I pushed for government-led awareness-raising campaigns and I teamed up with NGOs in Australia and around the world that were seeking to address this clear form of child exploitation.
After participating in a CPA UK forum on modern slavery for members of parliament, I realised that orphanage tourism and the associated trafficking of children is a form of modern slavery. I went on to sponsor the Parliamentary Inquiry into Establishing a Modern Slavery Act in Australia.
Through my partnerships with international organisations including Lumos, Save the Children and ReThink Orphanages, I learned that around 80% of children in orphanages are not ‘orphans’, having at least one living parent who can support them.
They are known as ‘paper orphans’ – children who
have either been trafficked, or whose parents have voluntarily relinquished them under the mistaken belief that life in an orphanage would be better than life at home. The money associated with volunteering has driven orphanage trafficking, unnecessarily removing children from families and placing them in situations of exploitation and potential situations of physical and sexual assault over months and years, that can never be recovered in young lives.
In what was one of the proudest moments of my career, as
the Assistant Minister for Home Affairs, I was responsible
for the passage of Australia’s Modern Slavery Act 2018. The Australian Parliament became the first in the world to formally recognise orphanage tourism as trafficking and as a form of modern slavery. The Act’s centrepiece is an annual modern slavery reporting requirement for large companies, universities and charities. The Australian Government’s ‘Smart Traveller’ campaign has also been instrumental in educating Australians about the issue and how to make a difference in ethical and meaningful ways.
Since the passage of the Modern Slavery Act 2018, I have seen promising progress in the recognition and awareness of the harm caused by orphanages. There is a great deal more the world can do. The United Nations has acknowledged our work and the United Kingdom is looking to Australia as a model for tackling orphanage trafficking.
The question for us is two-fold – how do we redirect well- intentioned donations to projects that keep families together rather than tearing them apart? Secondly, how do we reunite the millions of 'paper orphans' with their families?
There is still so much to be done. The challenges are significant, and yet we have already demonstrated that by working together we can achieve big change. We are responsible for allowing this contemptible trade in children to thrive. Now, it is our responsibility to end it.