“There is no difference between living in a brothel and staying in a shelter home,” says 23-year-old Farzana, who, after escaping a brothel in Pune, found herself in a ‘shelter home’ run by an NGO for the next 2 years. “In a brothel, we have no control of the situation, we cannot predict what is to happen to us the next moment; the same goes for these shelter homes, which are worse than prisons for us,” she adds, “In prisons, we know when we will be able to get out; in a shelter home, we have no information or certainty. When asked, I am always told things are in process, and it is a court order to keep me at the shelter, and without being ‘released’ by the court, they cannot send me back home.”

It is disturbing to see that brothels, shelter homes, prisons are synonymous in the minds of a survivor. The recent report about forced detention of women in a reputed shelter home in Hyderabad, and other recent reports of shelter homes in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh sexually exploiting children, raise serious doubts about the effectiveness of shelter home based rehabilitation approach for survivors of trafficking and sexual exploitation.

While the comparison of a brothel and a shelter home may surprise many, beneath the surface, examination of the two shows stark similarities. At a seminar at Antara, a mental health institution in Bengal, while lecturing on psycho-social impact of sex trafficking on victims, an “activist” from one of the prominent anti trafficking NGO in Kolkata that runs one of the largest shelters for trafficked girls and women in the city declared, “If human trafficking is eradicated, then we would have no job left do to.”

Notwithstanding the ‘joke’ in poor taste, her observation brings to light a few striking similarities between brothels and shelter homes. Both have an economic interest that is based on survivors of trafficking, wherein there is income, and salaries are generated. The brothel or shelter itself is an asset for its owner. The existence and business of both depend on the retention and availability of victims of trafficking. Both are closed institutions where survivors are kept in control, their mobility restricted and communication with family is prohibited or controlled.

Despite the fundamental difference between the two in its intent – one uses debt bondage and servitude of girls and women to earn profit for a few, and the other aims to free people from that bondage – to a young women who has survived both, the similarities are glaring.

Onderzoek naar rol Nederlandse ambtenaren bij illegale adopties

Een onafhankelijke commissie gaat onderzoek doen naar misstanden bij adopties van buitenlandse kinderen door Nederlanders, en de mogelijke betrokkenheid van de overheid daarbij. Dat heeft het ministerie van Justitie en Veiligheid zojuist bekendgemaakt.

Politieke redactie 06-12-18, 14:12 Laatste update: 14:25

Nederlandse ambtenaren waren in het verleden mogelijk betrokken bij illegale adopties uit Brazilië, aldus het ministerie. Daarnaast is mogelijk geprobeerd om deze betrokkenheid ‘buiten beschouwing te laten bij een strafrechtelijk onderzoek’, schrijft minister Sander Dekker (Rechtsbescherming). Hij wil weten of dit vaker voorkwam, en in hoeverre de overheid een actieve rol speelde bij illegale adopties.

De informatie over de mogelijke betrokkenheid kwam aan het licht door een informatieverzoek op basis van de Wet openbaarheid van bestuur (Wob). ‘De belangrijkste onderzoeksvraag is wat de feitelijke gang van zaken is geweest en wat de rol van de Nederlandse overheid was’, aldus Dekker.

Research into the role of Dutch civil servants in illegal adoptions

An independent committee will investigate abuses in adoptions of foreign children by the Dutch, and the possible involvement of the government in this. The Ministry of Justice and Security has just announced this.

Political editing 06-12-18, 14:12 Last update: 14:25

Dutch officials may have been involved in illegal adoptions from Brazil in the past, according to the ministry. In addition, attempts may have been made to 'disregard this involvement in criminal investigations', writes Minister Sander Dekker (Legal Protection). He wants to know if this occurred more often, and to what extent the government played an active role in illegal adoptions.

The information about the possible involvement came to light through an information request based on the Government Information (Public Access) Act (Wob). 'The most important research question is what the actual course of events was and what the role of the Dutch government was,' says Dekker.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) on Wednesday said it will be formulating guidelines for children's hostels which are not registered under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

The guidelines will cover institutions housing children at the request of parents who are unable to take care of them and their education.

According to the Ministry, the new guidelines will prescribe the minimum standards of care that should be provided to children.

In view of the directions of the apex court, the Ministry is drafting the guidelines which will be applicable to any institution not falling under the categories mentioned in the JJ Act, the Ministry said in a statement.

"Children staying at hostels, including those attached to schools, are as vulnerable as children at any other facility like child-care institutions (CCIs) and day-care centres. Therefore, we decided to formulate a set of guidelines to ensure adequate safety, minimum standard of living conditions and periodic inspections at hostels," said Union WCD Minister Maneka Gandhi.

19 years on, no justice, no compensation: A TN mother's fight for her abducted son

Nagarani is yet to even receive an interim compensation of Rs 1 lakh from the Government's victim compensation scheme.

Anjana Shekar

Tuesday, December 04, 2018 - 13:38

Share @Facebook Share @twitter Share @Email Share @google+ Share @reddit

Investigation: Maricopa County Assessor Paul Petersen involved in questionable adoptions

Jessica Boehm Arizona Republic

Published 9:12 PM EST Dec 3, 2018

An investigation by Honolulu Civil Beat says Maricopa County Assessor Paul Petersen is facing national scrutiny for his involvement in questionable adoptions from the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Courtesy photo

BHUBANESWAR/BERHAMPUR: The district collectors on Monday rai ..

Read more at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/66926577.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Shareable link to voice recording: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1VOfHwe0Yh6YuUIsER-XYeMjSUGe3FBO2

Opinie René Hoksbergen, oud-hoogleraar adoptie

Opinie René Hoksbergen, oud-hoogleraar adoptie

’Regels deden er niet zo toe bij adoptie kind’

Door PROF. DR. RENÉ HOKSBERGEN EMERITUS HOOGLERAAR ADOPTIE

12 december 2018

(From left) Gayatri Abraham, founder of Padme; counsellor Saras Bhaskar, Chandra Thanikachalam, VP of Indian Council for Child Welfare and paediatrician Sharada Srinivas at a panel discussion ? D SampathkumarBy Vaishali VijaykumarExpress News Service

CHENNAI : On a Saturday afternoon, a motley group — of adoptive parents, prospective adoptive parents, psychologists, legal and health professionals — gathered at the Wandering Artist for a panel discussion on different aspects of adoption. The event aimed to spread awareness and mitigate the gaps revolving around this sensitive topic especially post-digitisation through Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA). CARA, under the Central Government’s Ministry of Women and Child Development, is the nodal body for adoption of children.

The list of panelists included Saras Bhaskar, a counsellor; Dr Sharada Srinivas, a paediatrician; and Chandra Thanikachalam, vice president of Indian Council for Child Welfare. The session was moderated by Gayatri Abraham, founder of Padme.

Padme, a Bengaluru-based organisation started in August 2017, is a meeting ground and support system for adoptive parents, potential adoptive parents, adoptees and other stakeholders. “Padme is a result of four years of research after digitisation. There have been several developments since the Central Adoption Resource Authority was set up. All all legal adoption agencies were brought under one umbrella.

However, the whole process was taking place through a screen resulting in a loss of sharing of feelings and human interaction. However, many are aware that the system has been centralised. Another crucial part is there are very few adoption-trained counsellors. Our long-term goal is to popularise adoption as an alternate way of starting a family rather than a fallback option,” said Gayatri.