CHILDREN in Nepalese orphanages are increasingly vulnerable to abuse by foreign paedophiles in the poorly regulated system, officials and child welfare experts have warned.
An estimated 600 registered orphanages operate in Nepal alongside an informal system of unlicensed shelters. As many as two-thirds of the 16,000 children living at these institutions are not orphans but minors sent away by their rural parents.
Lax oversight of orphanages and the ease of obtaining a visa to Nepal have set alarm bells ringing among child rights advocates and security officials.
“Any paedophile can come here and go to a volunteer organisation or a children’s home or an orphanage and be with children undetected,” said Leslie Brown, an international consultant on trafficking based in Nepal.
Known paedophiles from abroad have been tracked entering Nepal, according to western officials in the region, who now rate the country as an emerging risk area for child sexual abuse.
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“We are concerned about the ease with which foreign paedophiles can operate freely in Nepal. This problem will only increase if it goes unchecked,” said one European official.
At least one Briton, who travels frequently to Nepal, is under investigation for allegedly engaging in underage sex. Another Briton, who was charged with sexual offences in the 1990s, now operates an agency placing volunteers in orphanages in Kathmandu.
Many orphanages operating in Nepal recruit volunteers who arrive in the country on tourist visas with no background checks.
The Innovative Social Centre, which cares for 11 children in a two-storey building in a rundown suburb of Kathmandu, advertises for volunteers on public noticeboards in the tourist district. It offers volunteers a room to sleep overnight for £5 (€7).
“I try to look on Facebook, but what checks can I do?” said Sujan Pariyar, 21, the manager. “ I haven’t had a bad experience until now. Volunteers are mostly good people who want to make a difference.”
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Brown said the Nepalese government had failed to regulate orphanage workers.
“There is no capacity, no regulatory body that monitors the activity of foreigners in a way to prevent them from exploiting children,” she said. “There are multiple opportunities for men of all ages to come here and volunteer with children undetected.”
Trafficking of children into orphanages is widespread in Nepal. Unscrupulous operators make money from donations for looking after the children.
“Once children are away from their families and village communities, and are living in an institution such as a home or school hostel or orphanage, they cannot be protected from exploitation,”said Brown.