Abstract
According to the United Nations (UN), as many as 8 million children worldwide live in institutional care (UNICEF, 2009). Particularly in the developing world, institutional care is commonly imposed as a means of “rescuing” impoverished or otherwise disadvantaged youth (Fox-Harding, 1997). Although institutional care has generally been associated with caring for orphans who have lost both parents, Prisiazhnaia (2008) has recognized an increasing trend of institutionalizing children who would be considered “social orphans,” that is, children who are “deprived … [of] parental care even though … [their] parents are alive” (p. 24). Indeed, Bilson and Cox (2007, p. 48) have argued that rather than parental death, “poverty is a major factor in the use of institutional care” in the developing world.
We would like to acknowledge Harini Amarasuriya and Ramani Jayathilake who contributed to the original report.
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© 2011 Myriam Denov, Richard Maclure, and Kathryn Campbell
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Seneviratne, D., Mariam, F. (2011). Home Truths: Children’s Rights in Institutional Care in Sri Lanka. In: Denov, M., Maclure, R., Campbell, K. (eds) Children’s Rights and International Development. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230119253_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230119253_2
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