Child harvesting

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Child harvesting or baby harvesting refers to the systematic sale of human children, typically for adoption by families in the developed world, but sometimes for other purposes, including trafficking. The term covers a wide variety of situations and degrees of economic, social, and physical coercion. Child harvesting programs or the locations at which they take place are sometimes referred to as baby factories or baby farms.

Contents

Methods

After a child is obtained through differing methods mentioned below, the identity of the child or the parent or both are altered in a process known as child laundering.

Baby factories

Women can become pregnant with the intent of selling their babies, willingly or forcibly. The facilities where the babies are delivered and sold are known as "baby factories" or "baby breeding farms". They might be disguised as maternity homes, orphanages, clinics and small scale factories. [1] The practice is often driven by poverty. In some cases there is overlap with commercial surrogacy, where the male partner buying the baby also provides the sperm. [2] Illegal street clinics such as this exist in Kenya. [3] A company called Baby101 had a baby factory in Thailand busted by police in 2011. [2] Baby factories operating through social media were documented in Malaysia in 2016. [4] Most of the discovered baby factories are found in Southern Nigeria, with high incidence in Ondo, Ogun, Imo, Akwa Ibom Abia and Anambra. [5]

Baby factories have sometimes tricked or abducted women to be raped in order to sell their babies. [6] [7] In 2008, a network of baby factories claiming to be orphanages, was revealed in Enugu, Enugu State (Nigeria), by police raids. [8] [9] [10] In June 2011, in Aba, Nigeria, 32 pregnant girls were freed from a baby farm that claimed to help pregnant teenagers but would then force them to give their babies. [11] [12] [13] [14] In October 2011, seventeen pregnant women (thirty according to some sources [15] [16] ) were found in Ihiala, Anambra, in a hospital of the Iheanyi Ezuma Foundation. [17] Five more baby factories were discovered in 2013, and eight more were discovered in 2015. [5]

Kidnapping

Organized rings in Nairobi are known to abduct the children of homeless mothers. This is usually while the families are sleeping on the street but also through gaining the trust of the mother. [3] In 1990s, it was rumored that child snatchers commonly roamed the country in Guatemala, which has lax laws regulating adoption. [18] In the 1980s, staff in some hospitals in Sri Lanka were involved in rackets of kidnapping newborns for international adoptions. They informed the biological mothers that the newborns had died and paid other women to act as the real mothers. [19] The state can also be involved in such schemes. During the One Child Policy in China, when women were only allowed to have one child, local governments would often allow the woman to give birth and then they would take the baby away. Child traffickers, often paid by the government, would sell the children to orphanages that would arrange international adoptions worth tens of thousands of dollars, turning a profit for the government. [20]

Matching unwanted children

Women who have a child or are pregnant with a child which they feel they are unable or unwilling to care for have been approached to instead deliver the baby to be sold to those looking for a child. The stigmatization of teenage pregnancy and lack of abortion access [5] have been cited as driving factors. Immigrant sex workers in Malaysia who get pregnant have entered into such exchanges as it is illegal for them to bear children. [4] Those approaching them are often healthcare professionals. Police broke such a scheme in a hospital in Gwailor in India in 2016. [21] Police broke such a scheme in a hospital in Egypt in 2012. [22]

Markets

Adoption

Child harvesting is particularly associated with and prevalent in some international adoption markets. [23] [24] [25] Cited factors driving this are a stigmatization of childless couples, the costs of assisted reproductive technology such as in vitro fertilization, and difficulties in adoption such cultural acceptance, legality, [22] or administrative difficulty. [26]

Forced labor

Child harvesting may also be involved in situations in which children are trafficked to provide slave labor. [14] [8] This could include in begging syndicates, [4] plantations, mines, factories, as domestic workers, or as sex workers. [14] [8]

Ritual sacrifices

There have been relatively few allegations that some child harvesting programs provide infants to be tortured or sacrificed in black magic or witchcraft rituals; this seems to be a concern in Nigeria. [12] [17] [13] [27]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adoption</span> Parenting a child in place of the original parents

Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from the biological parents to the adoptive parents.

Baby farming is the historical practice of accepting custody of an infant or child in exchange for payment in late-Victorian Britain and, less commonly, in Australia, New Zealand and the United States. If the infant was young, this usually included wet-nursing. Some baby farmers "adopted" children for lump-sum payments, while others cared for infants for periodic payments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orphanage</span> Residential institution devoted to the care of orphans

An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusive. There may be substance abuse or mental illness in the biological home, or the parent may simply be unwilling to care for the child. The legal responsibility for the support of abandoned children differs from country to country, and within countries. Government-run orphanages have been phased out in most developed countries during the latter half of the 20th century but continue to operate in many other regions internationally. It is now generally accepted that orphanages are detrimental to the emotional wellbeing of children, and government support goes instead towards supporting the family unit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surrogacy</span> Arrangement in which a woman carries and delivers a child for designated parent(s)

Surrogacy is an arrangement, often supported by a legal agreement, whereby a woman agrees to childbirth on behalf of another person(s) who will become the child's parent(s) after birth. People pursue surrogacy for a variety of reasons such as infertility, dangers or undesirable factors of pregnancy, or when pregnancy is a medical impossibility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trafficking of children</span> Form of human trafficking

Trafficking of children is a form of human trafficking and is defined by the United Nations as the "recruitment, transportation, harboring, and/or receipt" kidnapping of a child for the purpose of slavery, forced labour, and exploitation. This definition is substantially wider than the same document's definition of "trafficking in persons". Children may also be trafficked for adoption. Not all adoption is a form of human trafficking, but illegal or informal is. Illegal adoptions violate multiple child rights norms and principles, including the best interests of the child, the principle of subsidiarity and the prohibition of improper financial gain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baby hatch</span> Device for transfer of unwanted infants

A baby hatch or baby box is a place where people can leave babies, usually newborn, anonymously in a safe place to be found and cared for. This was common from the Middle Ages to the 18th and 19th centuries, when the device was known as a foundling wheel. Foundling wheels were abandoned in the late 19th century, but a modern form, the baby hatch, was reintroduced from 1952 and since 2000 has been adopted in many countries, most notably in Pakistan where there are more than 300. They can also be found in Germany (100), the United States (150), Czech Republic (88) and Poland (67).

The main family law of Japan is Part IV of Civil Code. The Family Register Act contains provisions relating to the family register and notifications to the public office.

Child laundering is a tactic used in illegal or fraudulent international adoptions. It may involve child trafficking and child acquisition through payment, deceit or force. The children may then be held in sham orphanages while formal adoption processes are used to send them to adoptive parents in another country.

The Baby Scoop Era was a period in anglosphere history starting after the end of World War II and ending in the early 1970s, characterized by an increasing rate of pre-marital pregnancies over the preceding period, along with a higher rate of newborn adoption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking</span> Trade of humans for exploitation

Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation.

Surrogacy in India and Indian surrogates became increasingly popular amongst intended parents in industrialised nations because of the relatively low costs and easy access offered by Indian surrogacy agencies. Clinics charged patients between $10,000 and $28,000 for the complete package, including fertilization, the surrogate's fee, and delivery of the baby at a hospital. Including the costs of flight tickets, medical procedures and hotels, this represented roughly a third of the price of the procedure in the UK and a fifth of that in the US. Surrogate mothers received medical, nutritional and overall health care through surrogacy agreements.

Nigeria is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children subjected to trafficking in persons including forced labour and forced prostitution. The U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 2 Watchlist" in 2017. Trafficked people, particularly women and children, are recruited from within and outside the country's borders – for involuntary domestic servitude, sexual exploitation, street hawking, domestic servitude, mining, begging etc. Some are taken from Nigeria to other West and Central African countries, primarily Gabon, Cameroon, Ghana, Chad, Benin, Togo, Niger, Burkina Faso, and the Gambia, for the same purposes. Children from other West African states like Benin, Togo, and Ghana – where Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) rules allow for easy entry – are also forced to work in Nigeria, and some are subjected to hazardous jobs in Nigeria's granite mines. Europe, especially Italy and Russia, the Middle East and North Africa, are prime destinations for forced prostitution. Nigerians accounted for 21% of the 181,000 migrants that arrived in Italy through the Mediterranean in 2016 and about 21,000 Nigerian women and girls have been trafficked to Italy since 2015.

Child-selling is the practice of selling children, usually by parents, legal guardians, or subsequent custodians, including adoption agencies, orphanages and Mother and Baby Homes. Where the subsequent relationship with the child is essentially non-exploitative, it is usually the case that purpose of child-selling was to permit adoption.

Anjali Pawar, also known as Anjali Pawar-Kate, is the director of the child rights non-governmental organization Sakhee and a consultant at Against Child Trafficking in Pune, Maharashra, which works in the field of child protection issues. During the course of her career, Pawar has advocated for child rights issues and worked to reunite adopted children with their biological families.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agape International Missions</span> American non-profit organisation

Agape International Missions (AIM) is a nonprofit, non-denominational, non-governmental organization working to rescue, heal and empower survivors of sex trafficking in Cambodia. It has staff in California and Southeast Asia and carries out housing, education, health, employment, rehabilitation, and community care initiatives in Cambodia. The AIM Apparel is a retail site that sells jewelry and other products made by survivors and supports the organization's initiatives. AIM received GuideStar USA, Inc.'s gold seal of transparency in 2019. Charity Navigator gave AIM the highest rating of 4 out of 4 stars and a score of 100 out of 100 for accountability & transparency.

Child sexual abuse in Nigeria is an offence under several sections of chapter 21 of the country's criminal code. The age of consent is 18.

Forced adoption is the practice of forcefully taking children from their parents and placing them for adoption.

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) is a law enforcement agency of the federal government of Nigeria. It was established in July, 2003 to combat human trafficking and other similar human rights violations.

Sex trafficking in Nigeria is a form of human trafficking which involves reproductive slavery or commercial sexual exploitation Nigeria. This involves the exploitation and movement of people from one location to the other through coercsion, deception or forcibly to exploit them sexually for financial and sexual benefits.

References

  1. ↑ Eseadi, C., Ikechukwu-Ilomuanya, A. B., Achagh, W., & Ogbuabor, S. E. (2015). Prevalence of baby factory in Nigeria: An emergent form of child abuse, trafficking and molestation of women. International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research Methods, 2(1), 1–12.
  2. 1 2 Thai Police Free 14 Women From Illegal Baby-Breeding Farm In Bangkok, The Huffington Post , February 24, 2011
  3. 1 2 "The baby stealers". BBC News. 15 November 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 "Malaysia: Babies for Sale". Al Jazeera News. 24 November 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 Makinde OA, Olaleye O, Makinde OO, Huntley SS, Brown B. (July 2015). Baby Factories in Nigeria: Starting the Discussion Toward a National Prevention Policy. Trauma Violence Abuse [Internet]. (cited July 24, 2015)
  6. ↑ "Nigeria 'baby factory' raided in Lagos". BBC News. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  7. ↑ "Nigerian's battle to keep her baby". BBC News. 26 September 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 Nigerian 'baby factory' raided, 32 teenage girls freed, AFP , Jun 1, 2011
  9. ↑ Police Raids Reveal Alleged Network of 'Baby Farms', Fox News , November 15, 2008
  10. ↑ 32 teens freed in Nigeria "baby factory" raid, CBS News , June 2, 2011
  11. ↑ Smith, David (2 June 2011). "Nigerian 'baby farm' raided – 32 pregnant girls rescued". The Guardian.
  12. 1 2 Nigeria 'baby farm' girls rescued by Abia state police, BBC , June 1, 2011
  13. 1 2 Nigerian 'baby farm' raided – 32 pregnant girls rescued, The Guardian , June 2, 2011
  14. 1 2 3 Police in Nigeria free 32 pregnant teens from 'baby factory;' newborns sold into labor, sex markets, Daily News , June 2, 2011
  15. ↑ Police Arrest 30 Pregnant Teenagers, Proprietor At Anambra Motherless Home, 247ureports , October 15, 2011
  16. ↑ Police arrest 30 pregnant teenagers, others at motherless babies home Archived 2013-09-16 at the Wayback Machine , The Guardian , October 16, 2011
  17. 1 2 Nigerian baby factory raided Archived 2016-05-27 at the Wayback Machine , News24 , October 16, 2011
  18. ↑ Tuckman, Jo (13 March 2007). "£700 for a child? Guatemalan 'baby factory' deals in misery and hope". The Guardian. p. 25.
  19. ↑ "'There were a lot of baby farms': Sri Lanka to act over adoption racket claims". The Guardian. 20 September 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  20. ↑ "'One Child Nation' Exposes the Tragic Consequences of Chinese Population Control". Reason TV . 2019-08-16. Archived from the original on 2021-10-29.
  21. ↑ "India: Cops bust 'baby farm' where you can buy an infant for $1,400 – Crime – Dunya News".
  22. 1 2 "Egypt Police Bust Baby Trafficking Ring". news.com.au.
  23. ↑ Geoghegan, Andrew (2009-09-15). "Fly Away Children". ABC Online . Retrieved 27 November 2010.
  24. ↑ "International Baby Harvesting and Adoption-Abduction". adoption-articles.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-24. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
  25. ↑ Press, Berkeley Electronic. "SelectedWorks – David M. Smolin". works.bepress.com.
  26. ↑ Makinde, Olusesan Ayodeji; Olaleye, Olalekan; Makinde, Olufunmbi Olukemi; Huntley, Svetlana S.; Brown, Brandon (July 24, 2015). "Child harvesting". Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. 18 (1): 98–105. doi:10.1177/1524838015591588. PMID   26209095. S2CID   9985947.
  27. ↑ "Child harvesting/ Baby factories". June 2013.
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