Abandoned children and orphans in Thailand

Day by day, more and more violence has made the welfare home become a cushion to support, care, replace, grow efficiently, return to society, lead a normal, happy life.

found

to operate illegally without inspection from the “government”, resulting in unsanitary care for children.

And the risk of this abuse.

child protection officer

UNICEF Thailand says

As of 2020, “22% of orphans in Thailand who do not live with their parents” must be placed in various shelters.

which is a number that is quite high, even ranked in the top of the world

as far as research

"In the case of children in the shelter, Sangkhlaburi District, Kanchanaburi Province", it was found that "only 4% of genuine orphans and 9.92% were unable to contact their parents."

Broken families and poverty want their children to go to school.

therefore brought to that shelter

but basically

"Procedure for accepting children into welfare institutions" if it is under the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS), 30 locations across the country.

Parents must authorize a government agency to take care of them instead.

But in the case of a child being inappropriately taken care of according to

The Child Protection Act of 2003 empowers the officials of the MSDHS to take action.

Start by evaluating the condition of family problems.

and then consider assistance as appropriate, namely: 1. Helping families to take care of children by themselves.

2. If you can't take care of it, find a temporary caregiver.

3. Long-term, need to find a foster family.

4. The first home accepts children and families for a period of not more than 3 months.

As for “private child care homes,” many are not registered.

or not listed in the government database, becoming a "twilight zone".

The next issue is

"Private Children's Homes Numbers", information from government agencies granting licenses for private sector to operate under

Under the Child Protection Act, as of August 8, 2022, there were 360 ​​private child shelters, 172 licensed and 188 unlicensed. can store 554 locations

Most of them are established as foundations and take underprivileged children into taking care of them, divided into 2 parts: the first part...“real intention to help children” without expecting benefits in return. actually able to help without being separated from the family

But with care in the welfare institution, the tangible picture is better seen.

if speaking in principle

"The United Nations" tend to rely on alternative care to grow in their own families, whether they are relatives.

or foster family

As for the welfare facility, it is the last resort according to the convention that

"With 3 children's rights", namely: 1. Actions involving children, both as public and private social welfare institutions, must take into account the best interests of the child.

Article 2. States Parties shall protect the child with respect to the rights and obligations of parents.

Article 3. States Parties shall ensure that the service institutions responsible for the protection of children meet standards.

In particular, safety, health and appropriate numbers of staff as well as effective supervision.

The problem is that

Children can be taken in and raised anywhere.

Make the drive to comply with the principles of the United Nations or the Child Protection Act.

Poor to do today

and more than that

“The government still lacks a mechanism to monitor and supervise private children's homes,” leaving a gap at the risk of children being subjected to any form of violence.

whether it is physical violence

mentally with inappropriate words

sexual violence

And the use of children as a means of exploitation and solicitation of money.

With some shelters being closed, there are schools inside.

making outsiders unable to recognize that

“What are children being abused?” In this regard, the government must have a more rigorous mechanism for monitoring children in private shelters.

Because looking at the statistics, many private homes are not registered.

Causing gaps in inspection that are not thoroughly controlled today

Therefore,

in order to issue monitoring measures in all areas that will reduce the risk of children living in shelters in the future.

“without waiting for violence to happen” by being proactive, making sure

“How many private welfare institutions are there in each province?” and then support and push into the system correctly.

because as long as

"Private children's homes" have not yet been brought up on the ground.

That place must have been a "Twilight Zone" where the fate of the children in it could not be known at all.

if compared to

“Overseas”, especially in Eastern Europe after World War II, has created a large number of shelters.

"Brought to the problem of violence" causing many countries to try to reduce the number of shelters.

Down and then moving towards a more systemic change in foster care.

Like

, there were many orphans in the shelters.

"Cambodian government and international organizations" help drive the change of the care model to be more foster family.

in order for children to develop well

and reduce the risk of being abused in that workhouse

Going back to Thailand, the government still pays little attention to children being subjected to violence in private children's institutions.

cause problems often

So we need to drive other forms of care.

Including raising in a replacement family

In order not to bring children together, "children" will be developed on the basis of maximum benefits.

With the principle of "Children's Rights" should grow up in a family environment, being sent to a child care institution only if necessary.

“Adhering to the best interests of the child” discourages placement in a care facility as numerous studies reflect negative impacts on children's health, development, and life prospects.

and high risk of abuse

Emphasizes with the Convention that

"Rights of the Child, Article 20" in the case of a child who is permanently or temporarily separated from his or her family

must receive special assistance protection.

Both government agencies and private sectors

especially in terms of safety, health and the appropriate number of staff as stipulated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and

The Child Protection Act also "must provide foster care and adoption". At present, the government supports an average of 5,000 foster relatives per year, and 200-300 foster families per year.

Lastly, “the government must take care of the children.”

boarding school

religious organization model

Then it is necessary to develop and strengthen other forms of care, such as parenting in replacement families.

But if it's good, it should provide welfare so that the family can take care of the child by themselves.

In this regard, "the government must have a more rigorous role in supervising child care facilities", both registered and unregistered.

“Organized” to ensure that the child is properly cared for in the best possible way.