Explaining the Dark Side of Supporting Orphanages: The NGO halo effect and child trafficking

• In Event: Darker sides of philanthropy

Abstract

Most children in orphanages are not orphans but are placed there because of the perception that orphanages provide superior care than families. Orphanages are often run by NGOs and are supported with various resources because of the perception that orphanages do good for children. However, children in orphanages face the risk of being trafficked (van Doore, 2022). Orphanage trafficking is driven by market forces. When volunteer tourists and donors believe they are supporting orphaned children, they inadvertently create a demand for more children in these institutions. To meet the demand, children are recruited or transferred from families into orphanages for the purpose of exploitation or profit.

This article explores why orphanages are supported despite the knowledge of the risk of trafficking. We apply an organizational ethics lens using “the NGO halo effect” to show how a person’s sense of moral goodness can blind them to any immorality or unethicality conducted in or by the NGO (De Bruin Cardoso et al., 2023). When applied to supporting orphanages, donors and volunteers can believe they know what is best for children in poverty, e.g., they may believe that children are better off in (western controlled) orphanages, instead of in their own families. This sense of moral superiority can perpetuate the demand for orphanages, undermining local child protection and welfare initiatives designed to act in the best interests of the child. The inherent trust in the perceived goodness of people can enable a sense of moral naivety, whereby the need to manage their ethics is not prioritized.

This article offers new insights into how and why orphanages are sustained despite the risks for children and offers recommendations for dimming the NGO halo effect amongst donors and volunteer tourists supporting orphanages.

References

De Bruin Cardoso, I., Russell, A. R., Kaptein, M., & Meijs, L. (2023). How Moral Goodness Drives Unethical Behavior: Empirical Evidence for the NGO Halo Effect. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/08997640231179751

Van Doore, K. E. (2022). Orphanage trafficking in international law. Cambridge University Press.

Authors

• Isabel de Bruin Cardoso

• Philine van Overbeeke, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam

• Lucas Meijs, Erasmus University Rotterdam