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The Deinstitutionalization of Children in Cambodia: Intended and Unintended Consequences

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The Deinstitutionalization of Children in Cambodia: Intended and Unintended Consequences THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION OF CHILDREN IN CAMBODIA: INTENDED AND UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES DISSERTATION Submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for the Master in Development Studies (MDEV) by Pamela Michel Lizarazu Geneva 2018 THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION OF CHILDREN IN CAMBODIA Acknowledgments To Graziella Moraes Silva, my dissertation supervisor. Grazi, without your constant encouragement and guidance, I would not have been able to achieve this. I hope it does show the effort of a novice researcher who admires your wisdom, and humbleness. Thank you immensely. Professor Christophe Gironde, thank you sincerely for allowing me to learn from this fascinating experience in Cambodia and for supporting students whenever you can. A special thanks to Amaury Peeters, for your excellent leadership skills and your support throughout. Outstanding thanks to all the team of the NGO Louvain Cooperation in Cambodia, as well as the research team of the MICCAF project (special mention to Lucy P. Jordan, Thida Kim, and Emily Yao Fu). I learned greatly from your inputs, and from spending time with you. My sincere acknowledgments to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Mission in Cambodia, for helping me connect with key informants. Moreover, a special thanks to all the key informants that shared their time and knowledge with me. I am also grateful to all the Residential Care Facilities which opened their doors to our visits and to the people who collaborated with this research. Thank you for your valuable time! My dear Cambodian brother, Hong Dy, a wise young man who taught me a lot during this experience. Thanks for your friendship and your work as a translator. I would like to express a remarkable appreciation to the “Association Genève – Asie” (AGA), for their financial collaboration, and to the Foundation "Simón I. Patiño" for allowing me to pursue this Master program in Geneva. To the Institut de Hautes Études Internationales et du Développement (IHEID), colleagues, personnel, and Professors for being key actors during this academic journey. Finally, on a more personal level, I would like to thank my close family for being my main supporters. I love you to the infinity. To Andrea, my APA fairy, Daniel who kindly proofread some parts of these work and to friends and extended family who encouraged and supported me every day, in various ways. And last but not least, I would like to thank God. I dedicate this work to my four grandparents for their wisdom, love and constant support, on earth and above. 2 THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION OF CHILDREN IN CAMBODIA Abstract Recent research estimates 2.7 million children are in residential care worldwide. These figures have disproportionately increased in countries like Cambodia in recent years, receiving widespread attention from scholars and development practitioners. To counteract this rise, the Royal Government of Cambodia has decided to deinstitutionalize 30% of the children in residential care institutions by 2018. This research aims to shed light on the perceived intended and unintended consequences of this process that, to the best of our knowledge, has not yet been studied. For this purpose, first-hand observations and ten intensive interviews were conducted in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh during February and March 2018. Both purposive sampling for key informants and convenience sampling for staff members of the residential care facilities were used. The main findings indicate perceived shortcomings in the required monitoring of reintegrated children and youth, who seem to be facing challenges such as having to drop out of school. This situation calls for a more in-depth evaluation of the process to ultimately guarantee "the best interests of the child.” Keywords: Residential care, children, youth, reintegration, deinstitutionalization 3 THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION OF CHILDREN IN CAMBODIA THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION PROCESS IN CAMBODIA: INTENDED AND UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES List of Contents PART I: INITIAL CONSIDERATIONS .................................................................................... 10 Chapter 1 ................................................................................................................................. 10 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 10 Chapter 2 ................................................................................................................................. 14 Methodology ........................................................................................................................... 14 2.1 Setting ............................................................................................................................ 15 2.2 Participants ..................................................................................................................... 16 Description of the participants (Demographic information). .......................................... 18 2.3 Intensive Interviews and Anecdotal Observations: Description and Procedures ......... 20 2.3.1 Observations. .......................................................................................................... 20 2.3.2 Intensive Interviews. .............................................................................................. 21 2.4 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................. 23 2.5 General Limitations ........................................................................................................ 23 Chapter 3 ................................................................................................................................. 24 Literature Review ................................................................................................................... 24 3.1 Child Welfare, Child Protection and Residential Care .............................................. 24 3.2 Main Terms, Global and Historical Particularities on Residential Care and Other Alternative Forms of Child Care ........................................................................................... 27 3.2.1 Main terms.. ....................................................................................................... 27 3.2.2 Different types of residential care for children: history, faith, culture, other forms of classification and regional differences. .............................................................. 27 3.2.3 Residential Care Facilities in low and middle-income countries and some figures….. ......................................................................................................................... 29 3.2.4 Global debates about RCFs and different types of family-based care: challenges and opportunities (brief overview). ................................................................ 31 3.2.5 Deinstitutionalization, Reintegration and Child Welfare. ........................................ 34 PART II: CONTEXT, FINDINGS, AND ANALYSIS ................................................................ 36 ALTERNATIVE CARE PROVIDED TO CHILDREN IN CAMBODIA: A TRANSITIONAL PERIOD ................................................................................................................................... 36 Chapter 4 ................................................................................................................................. 36 The Cambodian Context ....................................................................................................... 36 4.1 History and Current Context .......................................................................................... 36 4.2 Education ....................................................................................................................... 41 4.3 Migration: Figures, Children Left Behind, and Migrant Children ................................... 43 Chapter 5 ................................................................................................................................. 45 What Do We Know About Residential Care for Children in Cambodia? ......................... 45 5.1 International Documents on the Topic, National Policies, and Main Reports ............... 45 5.2 Residential Care Institutions and Other Facilities for Alternative Care: Figures and Increase ................................................................................................................................ 46 4 THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION OF CHILDREN IN CAMBODIA 5.3 Possible Pathways to Institutionalization and Possible Reasons for the Increase in RCIs, RCFs, and Children in Them ..................................................................................... 49 5.3.1 Residential care as an alternative for the lack of social welfare services. ............. 50 5.3.2 Poverty. .................................................................................................................... 51 5.3.3 Education and hopes for better opportunities. ........................................................ 53 5.3.4 Pagoda-based Associations.................................................................................... 61 5.3.5 NGOs, RCFs and “orphanage tourism.” ................................................................. 62 5.3.6 “Recruitment.” .........................................................................................................
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