tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/missing-children-17257/articlesMissing children – The Conversation2021-11-18T02:55:15Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1716662021-11-18T02:55:15Z2021-11-18T02:55:15ZFirst Nations kids make up about 20% of missing children, but get a fraction of the media coverage<p>In Australia, on average, 48 young people under the age of 18 <a href="https://www.afp.gov.au/what-we-do/campaigns/international-missing-childrens-day-campaign">go missing every day</a>. </p>
<p>While First Nations young people make up <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/children-youth/australias-children/contents/background/australian-children-and-their-families">less than 6%</a> of the Australian population under the age of 18, they comprise around <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-07/time-to-talk-about-missing-indigenous-children-after-cleo-smith/100598810">20% of missing children</a>. </p>
<p>In reality, this rate is likely higher, with information on cultural identity often missing in national <a href="https://www.missingpersons.gov.au/sites/default/files/Children__Youth_Missing_From_OOHC%20%28002%29.pdf">missing persons data</a>.</p>
<p>Despite this over-representation in missing person cases, these cases rarely make national, let alone international, headlines.</p>
<p>News coverage of police and community coming together to solve the disappearances and deaths of white children, however, frequently make the front pages and capture the nation. We have been reminded of this again in recent weeks.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-discovery-of-indigenous-childrens-bodies-in-canada-is-horrific-but-australia-has-similar-tragedies-its-yet-to-reckon-with-164706">The discovery of Indigenous children's bodies in Canada is horrific, but Australia has similar tragedies it's yet to reckon with</a>
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<h2>The silence on missing First Nations children</h2>
<p>The disappearance of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_William_Tyrrell">William Tyrrell</a> garnered national attention in 2014, and is dominating <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=william+tyrrell+latest&source=lnms&tbm=nws&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwigi_HanKD0AhXJldgFHV3UBocQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1920&bih=969&dpr=1">the news</a> once again at the moment. </p>
<p>The recent <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-03/cleo-smith-case-defies-child-abduction-patterns-stuns-experts/100591894">disappearance of Cleo Smith</a> in Western Australia also dominated news coverage for weeks. Cleo was <a href="https://inqld.com.au/news/2021/11/03/all-our-own-work-wa-police-hailed-for-stunning-rescue-of-cleo-smith/">found alive</a> after 18 days of dedicated police work and media coverage, the offering of a $1 million reward and over a thousand community calls to Crime Stoppers. These are ideal responses to missing children reports. </p>
<p>Eight years earlier, 10-month-old First Nations boy Charles Mullaley was abducted and killed in Western Australia. He is affectionately known as “Baby Charlie”. His abduction and his family’s journey for justice have received very little <a href="https://www.news.com.au/national/western-australia/enormous-support-for-inquest-into-charlie-mullaleys-brutal-murder/news-story/013df03a769386cb5beb1c4120d870a4">police commitment</a>. The family is <a href="https://thewest.com.au/news/crime/family-of-baby-charlie-still-waiting-for-inquest-eight-years-after-he-was-raped-and-murdered-by-mervyn-bell-ng-b881868947z">still waiting</a> for the government’s commitment to a public inquest.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/guide/article/2021/09/23/not-forgotten-ongoing-fight-solve-bowraville-murders">Bowraville murders</a> of three First Nations children received the same lack of urgency in media coverage and police response. The Bowraville case has remained unsolved since 1991. </p>
<p>This raises the question, has anything changed in the last 30 years? </p>
<p>It should not be the responsibility of a grieving family to seek justice and answers when law enforcement fails. It is a community and government responsibility to award the same attention, empathy and mobilisation of resources to bring home <em>all</em> missing children, or at the very least bring closure to their families, regardless of their cultural identity.</p>
<p>First Nations children are also <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/3b3a1719-bd84-46c8-9065-39b6228c097a/17194.pdf.aspx?inline=true">over-represented</a> in assault and homicide cases in Australia, along with suicides. Yet, these also rarely make headlines or generate public outcry.</p>
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<h2>Missing women also receive little attention</h2>
<p>Like children, First Nations women are far more likely to experience <a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-qanda-are-indigenous-women-34-80-times-more-likely-than-average-to-experience-violence-61809">violence-related injuries and deaths</a> than non-Indigenous women.</p>
<p>First Nations women are also over-represented in <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-08/australian-indigenous-women-are-overrepresented-missing-persons/11699974?nw=0&r=Video">missing persons statistics</a>, yet their disappearances receive little media attention compared to the disappearances and deaths of white women. This discrepancy was coined the “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/29/the-missing-white-woman-syndrome-still-plagues-america">missing white woman syndrome</a>” by American journalist Gwen Ifill in 2004. </p>
<p>This phenomenon has repeatedly been raised as an issue requiring national attention in <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-09/linda-burney-wants-senate-inquiry-into-missing-indigenous-women/11773992">Australia</a>, <a href="http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/IndigLawB/2017/27.pdf">Canada</a>, and the <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/11/06/gabby-petito-brian-laundrie/">United States</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-just-black-matter-australias-indifference-to-aboriginal-lives-and-land-85168">We just Black matter: Australia's indifference to Aboriginal lives and land</a>
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<h2>A bigger social problem at hand</h2>
<p>All of this points to a persistent, broader societal problem of who is perceived to be an <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0269758021993339">ideal victim</a>.</p>
<p>Police, media and community responses frequently <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/16/how-the-media-fails-aboriginal-aspirations">reinforce</a> <a href="https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/iipj/vol5/iss1/5/">negative stereotypes</a> of First Nations peoples. </p>
<p>For example, the media occasionally cover <a href="https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/wa/kalgoorlie-riot-city-tense-after-day-of-riots-mourning-elijah-doughty-14-ng-0be29de05a2fbcbfad389cff289d5a91">community unrest</a> arising from lack of justice for missing or killed First Nations children. This further fuels negative stereotypes of Indigenous people as unruly. However, there remains a lack of coverage about the missing children themselves, which would provide context for why community unrest happens to begin with. </p>
<p>The stereotypical representation of First Nations people as the “ideal offender”, rather than the “ideal victim”, also creates a lack of empathy for victims of violence. This is particularly true for those with <a href="https://oxfordre.com/criminology/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264079.001.0001/acrefore-9780190264079-e-666">complex issues</a>, including mental health problems, being intoxicated at the time of police contact, or being known to authorities for past police or child protection contact. </p>
<p>As a result, their experiences are “<a href="https://junkee.com/inquiry-murdered-indigenous-women/312611">othered</a>” and their credibility as a victim or family worthy of empathy and support is <a href="https://www.deathscapes.org/case-studies/indigenous-femicide-and-the-killing-state-in-progress/">diminished</a>. </p>
<p>Their interactions with police are frequently met with <a href="https://womenslegal.org.au/files/file/WLSV%20Policy%20Brief%201%20MisID%20July%202018.pdf">disbelief or blame for causing the situation</a>, such as when seeking help for family violence and other welfare concerns. </p>
<p>This means their calls for help to police are at times dismissed, as was experienced first-hand by <a href="https://www.news.com.au/national/western-australia/enormous-support-for-inquest-into-charlie-mullaleys-brutal-murder/news-story/013df03a769386cb5beb1c4120d870a4">Baby Charlie’s family</a> when WA police did not assist with ensuring his safety. Advocates have raised other <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/nov/06/cleo-smith-search-ends-in-joy-but-what-of-australias-other-missing-children">examples</a> of missing First Nations children being dismissed by police or police refusing to intervene</p>
<p>Instead, First Nations communities often have to be the ones to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/nov/06/cleo-smith-search-ends-in-joy-but-what-of-australias-other-missing-children">call for justice</a>, as has been done with <a href="https://www.change.org/p/justiceforbabycharlie-our-little-angel-deserved-better">this petition</a> calling for an inquest and investigation into Baby Charlie’s death. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cleo-smith-has-been-gone-almost-a-week-why-missing-children-cases-grip-the-nation-170363">Cleo Smith has been gone almost a week. Why missing children cases grip the nation</a>
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<h2>What needs to happen?</h2>
<p>It is time for an independent national inquiry similar to the one launched into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in <a href="http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/IndigLawB/2017/27.pdf">Canada</a>. </p>
<p>It is time for Australia to treat the disappearances and deaths of First Nations children (and adults) with the same priority and urgency we see for cases involving white children.</p>
<p>The first step towards greater equality and humanity in the treatment of First Nations deaths and disappearances – by the media, police and general public - is to address our subconscious and actual biases around who is an ideal victim worthy of our attention. </p>
<p>We need to stop othering the experiences of First Nations people and families. Only then will we ensure that Black lives matter – not just the lives of those who manage to present well during times of crises.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171666/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Silke Meyer currently receives funding from Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety (ANROWS), the Australian Institute of Criminology, the Victorian Law Foundation and the Department of Social Services. She is a former non-government member of the Queensland Domestic ad Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samantha Wild receives funding from Department of Justice and Attorney General. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wynetta Dewis receives government funding for Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Service (QIFVLS).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eugene Hyman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>First Nations young people make up around 20% of missing children in Australia. However, these cases rarely make national, let alone international headlines.Silke Meyer, Associate Professor in Crimninology; Deputy Dircetor Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre, Monash UniversityEugene Hyman, Adjunct professor, Santa Clara UniversitySamantha Wild, Director for consultancy business Awakening - Cultural Ways, Indigenous KnowledgeWynetta Dewis, CEO at Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Service, Indigenous KnowledgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1712002021-11-04T06:56:37Z2021-11-04T06:56:37ZWhen missing children return: how can we avoid adding to Cleo Smith’s trauma?<p>Four-year-old Cleo Smith was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/nov/03/cleo-smith-found-first-pictures-of-smiling-girl-as-australian-police-detail-moment-of-rescue">found by Western Australian police earlier this week</a>, 18 days after going missing from a remote campsite.</p>
<p>Being taken and removed from one’s family is a significantly traumatic event for any child. It disrupts their entire world.</p>
<p>Children are <a href="https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2011.02399.x">dependent on their families and attachment figures</a> for their sense of security and support. Sudden loss of these important relationships can result in fear, a sense of abandonment and confusion. Children left alone can become withdrawn and depressed and have little understanding of why this has happened to them.</p>
<p>There can be long-term effects, such as memories of the fearful experience, sleep disruption and anxiety. Some children will have difficultly rebuilding their sense of security and trust. </p>
<p>As a child psychiatrist who’s researched trauma, I’m interested in how we can ensure such children recover.</p>
<p>Family members, the media and the public also need to avoid certain actions or behaviours that could re-traumatise the child.</p>
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<h2>How can the child recover?</h2>
<p>The first priority after finding the child is to immediately re-establish a sense of safety and stability, and to reunite them with their family.</p>
<p>The most important thing is to avoid intrusive, <a href="https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1348/135532506X156620">probing questioning</a> straight away as this can be frightening and distressing. It’s a normal response for the child to try and not think about what they’ve just been through.</p>
<p>They will take their own time before they’re able to share details of their experiences, and will need considerable support and care to do this.</p>
<p>Intrusive questioning may re-traumatise the child. For survivors of trauma, being asked to focus on their memories and experiences of fear can be distressing and bring back the terror of the experience, particularly if they’re not ready to think about the events.</p>
<p>Police forces have skilled interviewers who understand and avoid this when recovering a child, and perform the interviews gradually.</p>
<p>There are open questions about any other sort of trauma Cleo may have experienced, but for now we don’t have any information on this. We might never know all the details and we need to respect the family’s right to privacy.</p>
<p>Some children might benefit from counselling, particularly if they have severe anxiety symptoms or have been held for a long time.</p>
<p>Children held for a long time often become dependent on their captor for survival, as they <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01926180902754711?journalCode=uaft20">adapt to their situation and attempt to survive</a>. It’s a very strange and traumatising position for the child to be in and may take a long time to recover from.</p>
<p>Over time, it’s important for attachment figures such as parents and carers to allow children to express fears in a gentle way.</p>
<p>Children may have “disguised anxieties”. They may develop fear about some other thing or event, for example storms or dogs, because they’re <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0829573512468845">expressing anxiety about the traumatic event in a disguised way</a>.</p>
<h2>Adults should listen, not probe</h2>
<p>Caregivers need to be <a href="https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubpdfs/child-trauma.pdf">guided by the child’s willingness to disclose</a>, and when.</p>
<p>The response to trauma varies considerably. Some children tell parents or carers a lot about the experience at first. Others may disclose small details little by little over time, while some may not speak about details for months or years.</p>
<p>Parents or carers need to let the child speak at their own pace and be guided by the child’s level of anxiety. The aim is to give the child a safe space to speak to trusted people who can support them.</p>
<p>When they do start talking about their experience, adults must listen carefully and validate their feelings. Adults should reassure the child that he or she is safe now. It’s not a good idea to probe.</p>
<p>Believing what the child says is crucial.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-real-to-them-so-adults-should-listen-what-children-want-you-to-know-to-help-them-feel-safe-113834">'It's real to them, so adults should listen': what children want you to know to help them feel safe</a>
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<h2>Let’s not get carried away with speculation</h2>
<p>We don’t know what the long-term consequences for Cleo will be. This will depend on what she’s been exposed to, which we don’t know yet. And we don’t always get a sense of closure – this isn’t as important as working on the best way to support her recovery.</p>
<p>The media should avoid premature comment and speculation on what might have occurred. The media currently have no idea what kind of person the suspect is and shouldn’t speculate on his behaviours and motives.</p>
<p>It’s also not helpful for the media to focus on extreme ideas about risk to children at the hands of predatory offenders.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/missing-and-found-understanding-the-privacy-needs-of-missing-people-13786">Missing and found: understanding the privacy needs of missing people</a>
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<p>As the public, we shouldn’t speculate about the circumstances either or prejudge those involved. Police are methodical and thorough in their work and will need time to piece together the story of what may have happened.</p>
<p>The local community, and many members of the public, are likely to be anxious and fearful. A missing child strikes at the core of our desire to care for children. This may have negative impacts on community trust and relationships. </p>
<p>If this was random act, there’s the potential for ongoing fear. And it’s potentially more scary than the stereotypes we think of, such as a planned attack by a ring of perpetrators. A random attack is harder to make sense of, terrifying and unsettling.</p>
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<h2>Parents need support, too</h2>
<p>Cleo’s parents, and any parents in a similar situation, have been through a horrendous ordeal.</p>
<p>They have the vital role of helping a child feel safe again, so they also need support to do this.</p>
<p>All parents may feel increased anxiety about child safety in the face of this event. Children may also hear about Cleo’s experience and worry this could happen to them. Fear is contagious when such a traumatic event impacts a community.</p>
<p>If parents are worried about their child showing trauma or anxiety symptoms, they should speak to GP who can refer to a psychologist or psychiatrist if more support is needed.</p>
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<p><em>If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171200/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Louise Newman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The most important thing to avoid is intrusive, probing questioning straight away. The media and the public should also refrain from speculative, premature comment.Louise Newman, Professorial Fellow in Psychiatry, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1703632021-10-22T03:38:23Z2021-10-22T03:38:23ZCleo Smith has been gone almost a week. Why missing children cases grip the nation<p>The smiling, pigtailed toddler in the gold heart top. A picture of innocence, and sadly the image many people will now recognise – Cleo Smith, the latest Australian child to vanish without a trace.</p>
<p>Four-year-old Cleo <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-21/cleo-smith-disappearance-what-we-know/100556400">disappeared from her family’s tent</a> during the night at a campground north of Carnarvon, in Western Australia.</p>
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<p>Police believe she was most likely abducted. Yesterday, the WA government announced a reward of up to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-21/wa-government-announces-$1-million-reward-for-cleo-smith-info/13597774">A$1 million</a> for information about her disappearance.</p>
<p>Cleo is the latest missing child to grip the nation. And our fascination with every twist and turn of such cases can both help and be a curse.</p>
<h2>Huge interest in the case</h2>
<p>Cleo’s case has drawn a high level of media and public scrutiny. Google is returning <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=cleo+smith&client=safari&channel=mac_bm&ei=LupxYfbdC7iP4-EPo9qr6Ao&ved=0ahUKEwj2rL2cx9zzAhW4xzgGHSPtCq0Q4dUDCA0&uact=5&oq=cleo+smith&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyCAguEMQCEJMCMgQIABADMgQIABADMgQIABADMgQIABADMgQIABADMgQIABADMgQIABADMgQIABADMgQIABADOgYIABAKEEM6BAgAEEM6CgguEMcBEKMCEEM6DgguEIAEELEDEMcBEKMCOgsILhCABBDHARCjAjoICAAQgAQQsQM6DgguEIAEELEDEMcBENEDOgQILhBDOggIABCxAxCDAToFCC4QgAQ6CggAELEDEIMBEEM6BQgAEJECOgoILhCxAxCDARBDOgcILhCxAxBDSgQIQRgAUJBMWL1aYO1caABwAHgAgAGtAYgBwgySAQQwLjEwmAEAoAEBwAEB&sclient=gws-wiz">over 56 million hits</a> on the child’s name; multiple news stories appear daily from all main media outlets.</p>
<p>Largely, the public has been concerned for the child, hoping for a safe return. </p>
<p>However, social media has also gone wild with speculation, with the mother and stepfather being openly attacked.</p>
<p>Comparisons are also being drawn to other missing child cases – notably <a href="https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/chamberlain-azaria-chantel-9719">Azaria Chamberlain</a>, who vanished from a campsite at Uluru in 1980. Later the coroner <a href="https://justice.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/205377/azaria-chantel-chamberlain.pdf">ruled</a> Azaria had been snatched and killed by a dingo.</p>
<p>Then there was <a href="https://7news.com.au/news/william-tyrrell/william-tyrrell-investigation-reveals-person-of-interest-frank-abbott-has-no-alibi-on-day-of-disappearance-c-4078248">William Tyrrell</a>, the little boy in the Spiderman suit, who disappeared without a trace from his grandmother’s house in Kendall, New South Wales in 2014. Sadly, what happened to William remains a mystery.</p>
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<p>More recently, three-year-old Anthony “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-07/missing-boy-was-passed-by-search-teams-days-ago/100439236">AJ</a>” Elfalak, a non-verbal boy with autism, went missing from a rural property in NSW in September 2021. Fortunately, he was found safe and well after three days.</p>
<p>Clearly, everyone is hoping the same will be true of Cleo.</p>
<h2>Why do lost children evoke such a response?</h2>
<p>The public is so interested in missing children cases for a number of reasons, beyond concern for their obvious vulnerability.</p>
<p>Children represent our future. We are heavily invested in kids from both an evolutionary perspective, as well as psychologically. </p>
<p>When a child goes missing, the event represents a threat to our sense of predictability, order and security in the world. Consciously or not, we have a desire to fix this, which can only occur if an abducted child is returned. </p>
<p>Without the child being returned, the need for certainty in our own life is difficult to restore. Children, after all, continue our gene pool and blood line. Arguably, without them, we are only one generation away from extinction as a species.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/social-media-and-crime-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-66397">Social media and crime: the good, the bad and the ugly</a>
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<p>News of the abduction of children also occurs in real time. And the internet is both helpful and a curse. </p>
<p>Bad news spreads fast. This can be of great assistance in raising public awareness and engaging members of the public to do some basic detective work. </p>
<p>News spread online can also jog the memories of potential witnesses. The information collected this way can significantly help police.</p>
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<p>However, the minute-by-minute analysis of child abduction cases can have a major impact on our collective psyche.</p>
<p>Such non-stop coverage often occurs with prurient, distressing detail, tearful press conferences and what seems to be an interminably long waiting game, with generally no news or tragic outcomes to report. </p>
<p>In real time, we are taken into the very private lives of the child’s family, their homes, their toys, their back yards and their activities. </p>
<p>This invasion of personal space further reinforces the public’s strong sense of identification with the family. We relate to their grief, their anger and their anxiety. It could, after all, be our child who has been taken.</p>
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<p>There is an emotional connection and generally speaking, enormous empathy for these families. In a sliding door moment of time, these families are plucked from obscurity, to find themselves front page news, spreading like wildfire through social media. </p>
<p>We also share their fear for the worst.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-lost-child-is-a-white-australian-anxiety-about-innocence-33900">The 'lost child' is a white Australian anxiety about innocence</a>
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<h2>Then there are the conspiracy theories</h2>
<p>Keyboard warriors vent their anxiety and, at times, anger, online. Wild stories with sinister undertones circulate and propagate, laying blame at family members, associates or the police investigation.</p>
<p>For some, this provides a sense of identity and security. By expressing opinions online, the keyboard warrior feels a greater sense of connectivity with the victim, even if they live on the other side of the country, or on another continent. </p>
<p>By reaching out in this way, albeit at times in an offensive and cruel manner, they feel a sense of empowerment and control.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-the-chamberlain-case-the-human-cost-of-wrongful-conviction-7730">Lessons from the Chamberlain case: the human cost of wrongful conviction</a>
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<p>However, these conspiracy theories can have a devastating <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/jan/23/conspiracy-theories-internet-survivors-truth">psychological impact</a> on those involved. And the lack of awareness of this impact on individuals and families truly beggar’s belief. </p>
<p>These conspiracy theories can also impede the investigation as they’re a major distraction.</p>
<h2>There’s collective grief</h2>
<p>When the investigation ends with a tragic outcome, or for some, arguably worse, no outcome, the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-03-18-mn-48416-story.html">collective grief</a> in our community can be immense. </p>
<p>This is linked with the strong sense of identification and fear we experience when a child is taken from a family.</p>
<p>It is the premature and unexpected loss of a child, even anonymous, through evil processes beyond our control that can trigger these strong reactions. </p>
<p>Fortunately, a child disappearing without trace is rare in Australia, and the entire country is now holding its collective breadth, hoping Cleo is found soon.</p>
<p>Having worked with many crime victims, including families who have lost loved ones and whose cases remain unsolved, until this mystery is solved, we know the pain will be enduring for those closest to this little girl.</p>
<p>So we would ask for kindness and consideration in how the community discusses this case – including on social media. Words have power, so please choose yours carefully.</p>
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<p><em>Tim Watson-Munro, a criminal psychologist, co-authored this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170363/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Xanthe Mallett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Cleo is the latest missing child case to grip the nation. And our fascination with every twist and turn of such cases can both help and be a curse.Xanthe Mallett, Forensic Criminologist, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/906872018-02-06T07:14:11Z2018-02-06T07:14:11ZHow we’re developing underground mapping technologies - lessons from the Beaumont case<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204783/original/file-20180205-19915-4szzwy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An ERT survey line on the New Castalloy site: the metal pegs allow electricity to be injected into the ground and the orange cable carries the current to the pegs. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ian Moffat </span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s difficult to look on the bright side when <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-02/enduring-mystery-of-adelaides-missing-beaumont-children/9352254">children missing for 52 years</a> still aren’t found. </p>
<p>However my recent work with the South Australian police in identifying a potential burial site of Jane, Arnna and Grant Beaumont (not seen since Australia Day 1966) has advanced a method for identifying disturbed soil, archaeological material and unmarked grave sites. </p>
<p>Known as electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), this technique maps underground features in 3D. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-2-000-missing-persons-and-500-unidentified-human-remains-a-dedicated-lab-could-find-matches-90620">Australia has 2,000 missing persons and 500 unidentified human remains – a dedicated lab could find matches</a>
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<p>This recent survey took place on the grounds of the New Castalloy factory in South Australia. The land became a renewed site of interest in the Beaumont case when two new witnesses came forward and said that they had dug, as teenagers, a large hole at the site on the same weekend as the Beaumont children disappeared. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, following excavation on the site, we now know the new area of focus contained nothing but animal bones and other debris. While this was not the result that was hoped for, ERT was critical in narrowing down a large block of land to find a smaller zone that was feasible for excavation. Without this technology it is likely that police investigation would have been unable to proceed and that this area of the Castalloy site could not have been ruled out as being of interest.</p>
<h2>How does geophysics find graves?</h2>
<p>My background is in geology and geophysics, but my research for the past fifteen years has focused on <a href="https://www.antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/516">archaeological targets</a> and, in particular, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/pilot-study-on-why-academics-should-engage-with-others-in-the-community-76707">location of unmarked graves</a>. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, the techniques we use don’t work as “bone detectors” directly: instead, they map soil disturbance caused by the mixing and repacking of soil layers during the back filling of graves. Obviously finding disturbance alone is not enough to identify a grave, it needs to have appropriate dimensions and should reflect historical information or witness statements about the site.</p>
<p>Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is a forensic approach commonly used to explore underground features, which sends pulses of radar energy into the ground and measures the response. This creates 2D profiles which show the soil structure and composition, in an image which is something like digging a trench and looking at the wall.</p>
<p>However GPR was not suited to investigate the New Castalloy site - mainly due to the depth of the potential burials (up to four metres below ground level). The radar signal rapidly decreases with depth for GPR surveys in areas with electrically conductive soils, such as the shallow areas of this site. I did trial GPR at the New Castalloy factory however the results show nothing below around 1m depth.</p>
<p>On that basis, I decided to use Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT). To my knowledge, this was the first time this technique has been applied to a forensic case in Australia.</p>
<p>However, an ERT survey takes time. My team and I worked for 14 hours a day for three consecutive days to image the site. This time requirement may explain why ERT, while widely used in the mineral exploration industry, has not been extensively used in forensic investigations in Australia before.</p>
<p>ERT works by injecting electricity into the ground and then measuring how well (or poorly) it travels to a series of receiving electrodes. The electrodes are connected to the ground with metal pegs that are watered to ensure the current can travel easily into the ground. </p>
<p>On the New Castalloy site I was able to image to a maximum depth of 10m, with a resolution along the lines of 0.5m. </p>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>The ERT data was processed into a series of 2D profiles, depth slices and a 3D cube with the assistance of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kleanthis_Simyrdanis">Kleanthis Simyrdanis</a>, an expert in the archaeological use of ERT, from the Institute for Mediterranean Studies in Crete. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pilot-study-on-why-academics-should-engage-with-others-in-the-community-76707">Pilot study on why academics should engage with others in the community</a>
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<p>I reviewed this data to look for areas of soil disturbance with dimensions and a location that reflected witness accounts of a potential grave site. Two connected features immediately stood out. They were approximately 2 x 1 m and 2 x 2 m, and did not continue all the way to the surface; instead they appeared to start underneath a thin resistive layer that was interpreted as the fill added to the site after the hole was dug.</p>
<p>Even though we could see from the data that a hole had been dug at this location, there was no way of knowing whether this feature was a grave. I passed on my findings to detectives from the Major Crime Investigation Section at SA Police, and they made the decision to excavate the site. </p>
<p>The excavation took place on February 2nd. It uncovered fill brought on to the site to aid construction of the nearby building, and then a sandy layer which was found to contain a feature made up of a variety of rubbish including broken ceramic, shell and animal bone. The feature was also wetter than the surrounding sand. This feature corresponded almost exactly in size and shape to the feature found during the ERT survey. No human remains were discovered and the clay layer underneath the feature we found was clearly not disturbed. </p>
<h2>Can geophysics help solve crime?</h2>
<p>In this case, the close correspondence between buried materials found in the subsurface of the New Castalloy site and the feature shown using ERT validate the use of this technique for finding disturbances underground. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204521/original/file-20180202-123846-1jnht58.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204521/original/file-20180202-123846-1jnht58.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204521/original/file-20180202-123846-1jnht58.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204521/original/file-20180202-123846-1jnht58.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204521/original/file-20180202-123846-1jnht58.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204521/original/file-20180202-123846-1jnht58.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204521/original/file-20180202-123846-1jnht58.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Beaumont children who went missing in 1966.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Supplied by South Australia Police</span></span>
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<p>It sadly did not find Jane, Arnna and Grant Beaumont on this occasion, but is now established as an appropriate technique for other sites with complicated sub-surface conditions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90687/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The geophysical survey of the New Castalloy site was funded by Channel 7. Dr Moffat receives research funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>How can we find buried bodies? Ground penetrating radar is one solution - but it’s not always effective. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) offers a very sensitive alternative.Ian Moffat, ARC DECRA Research Fellow in Archaeological Science, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/453822015-09-08T03:42:21Z2015-09-08T03:42:21ZGiving faces to South Africa’s missing children<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93883/original/image-20150904-14653-1vm9xw0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">For many children who are victims of crime, their remains are only discovered some time later as a result of perpetrators concealing the crime.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Five years ago, when an unidentified skull needed a face, a forensic artist would use general UK and North American population data and put pencil to pad or mould a 3D facial reconstruction using clay. </p>
<p>These days, the latest developments in 3D technology and computer graphics mean that the <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0379073899000262">facial reconstruction</a> no longer has to be performed manually. Forensic artists at the South African Police can now use South Africa specific data for their cases rather than North America or British data.</p>
<p>Although forensic sketches are still used, computer software that generates 3D images of a reconstructed face have become the preferred method. The use of computer technology also means more precise and objective <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0379073814005106">age progression techniques</a> are used to predict a missing person’s appearance, based on their age. </p>
<p>Recently, our <a href="http://www.fsijournal.org/article/S0379-07381500161-9/pdf">research</a> has provided data on the craniofacial proportions, facial growth and tissue thickness of all South African children between the ages of six and 13. These tissue thickness values are important as they provide a more realistic representation when a facial reconstruction is done to aid in determining the identity of the victim. </p>
<h2>The challenge in solving a cold case</h2>
<p>A significant number of child homicides are <a href="http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/91/8/12-117036.pdf">underreported</a> because the perpetrators conceal the crime. As a result, the remains of many children are only discovered some time later.</p>
<p>When skeletal remains of a child are found, the police’s forensic artists can use facial reconstruction to help identify the remains. This reconstruction can also be placed in the media to make the public aware of the case. </p>
<p>Facial reconstruction uses the relationships between the facial features, subcutaneous soft tissues and underlying bony structure of the skull to recreate the face. It fuses artistry with forensic science, anthropology, osteology and anatomy. </p>
<p>For children of European ancestry, facial reconstruction was based on European standards. A study on white British and North American children suggested similarities across some regions of the world for children of European ancestry. </p>
<p>In South Africa, facial reconstructions for black children were problematic because until recently forensic artists only had the facial soft tissue thickness data for children of European and American descent. Previous research has shown that tissue thickness data from other regions of the world cannot be used to adequately reconstruct faces of Black South Africans. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/12chapter7.shtml">Coloured</a> children also pose a problem – there are significant differences between the tissue thickness of adult black South Africans to a coloured sample. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93497/original/image-20150901-25717-eueq8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93497/original/image-20150901-25717-eueq8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=258&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93497/original/image-20150901-25717-eueq8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=258&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93497/original/image-20150901-25717-eueq8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=258&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93497/original/image-20150901-25717-eueq8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93497/original/image-20150901-25717-eueq8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93497/original/image-20150901-25717-eueq8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Age progression by a forensic artist of a cold case involving a missing South African child from age three to six.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Supplied</span></span>
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<h2>The dilemma with missing children</h2>
<p>In cases where the remains of the missing child have not been found, forensic artists use ageing techniques to project how the child’s face would have aged during the time they have been missing. Many of these cases rely only on old photographs of the missing child. </p>
<p>The challenge in such cases is that changes in the face and head of the child as a result of facial growth in their prepubescent and pubescent years complicate the age progression. This impacts on the prediction of the child’s facial features. Previously, forensic artists used photographs of the parents of the missing child to project how the missing child might have aged but this was criticised as being too subjective. </p>
<p>Although excellent studies around general growth were conducted in South Africa, facial growth and facial changes during growth were not specifically addressed. As a result, no data on the craniofacial dimensions and facial growth changes in South African children were available until this year. </p>
<p>Our research describes patterns of facial growth in primary school children using craniofacial indices and face shape changes at various ages by means of geometric morphometric analyses. </p>
<p>This means that more precise and objective <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0379073814005106">age progressions techniques</a> can now be used performed to predict a missing child’s current appearance. These methods provide growth patterns which can be used by the police to predict, using an earlier photograph, what a missing child might look like years later. </p>
<h2>Not one size fits all</h2>
<p>Although the data set will primarily be used to tackle crimes against children, it can also have wider application. </p>
<p>It could be used in reconstructive maxillofacial surgery and orthodontic treatment and diagnosing syndromes based on facial dysmorphology such as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. This is because it is specific to South African children and documents the changes in their face shapes at various ages.</p>
<p>Most importantly, however, providing data on craniofacial proportions, facial growth and facial soft tissue thickness of South African children between the age of six and 13, reflects progress in this field. It will greatly improve the reliability and validity of craniofacial reconstructions and age progression of missing children.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/45382/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nanette Briers received funding from the National Research Foundation. Any opinions, findings and conclusions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and therefore the NRF does not accept any liability in regard thereto.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maryna Steyn receives funding from the National Research Foundation of South Africa.</span></em></p>New data which details how South African children age and their faces grow will prove invaluable in finding missing children.Nanette Briers, Senior Lecturer, Department of Anatomy, University of PretoriaMaryna Steyn, Professor; Head of the School of Anatomical Sciences, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/421082015-05-25T01:28:53Z2015-05-25T01:28:53ZYour child is missing. Would you want their adoption to be easier?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82659/original/image-20150522-12512-1l7iadh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">'Millions of children in overseas orphanages ... would dearly love to have parents', claims Tony Abbott, and his government is making intercountry adoption easier.
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.intercountryadoption.gov.au/">Screenshot/Intercountry Adoption Australia</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Imagine for one moment your child went missing. It’s a common enough event worldwide for today, May 25, to be declared <a href="http://www.missingpersons.gov.au/awareness/campaigns/youthchildrens-day">International Missing Children’s Day</a>. Surely you would expect no stone to be left unturned to find your child - even if took six months, a year, or two. </p>
<p>But how would you feel if your child was permanently given to someone else before this happened? This is exactly what happens to many families around the world. Parents are targeted by recruiters and children are bought or <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/07/kidnapped-and-sold-inside-the-dark-world-of-child-trafficking-in-china/278107/">stolen and sold</a>. Other children are lost, separated by war or disaster, or left for temporary safekeeping in children’s homes.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Some intercountry adoptions involve children stolen from their parents.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Pushing adoption of ‘millions of orphans’</h2>
<p>Last week, Prime Minister Tony Abbott <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/new-agency-to-guide-parents-who-want-to-adopt-children-from-overseas-20150516-gh34d8.html">launched a new government agency and website</a> promoting intercountry adoption, and repeated <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-business-of-orphanages-where-do-orphans-come-from-38485">the dubious claim</a> that “there are millions of children in overseas orphanages who would dearly love to have parents”. It’s part of a multi-million-dollar <a href="http://www.intercountryadoption.gov.au/">service for prospective and adoptive parents</a> intended to speed up adoptions of children from overseas. </p>
<p>The website rehashes what prospective and adoptive parents already know through state and federal departments. There is no information for adult intercountry adoptees, no additional post-adoption support, no research publications – apart from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare <a href="http://www.aihw.gov.au/adoptions/">yearly reports</a> – and no information about who is staffing this call centre. All in all, it’s a costly exercise for not much return. </p>
<p>The same pressures we see operating in Australia are <a href="http://www.brandeis.edu/investigate/adoption/">more intense at the international level</a>. For <a href="http://aaf.sagepub.com/content/24/2/45.short?rss=1&ssource=mfc">over 60 years</a> the focus of many national governments and adoption agencies has not been on re-uniting children with their families. Instead the aim has been to adopt children as quickly as possible.</p>
<p>Over the years many cases have shown that even when families do find their children they are not returned once separation is made permanent through adoption. These cases become more complicated, adversarial and unresolvable the older children become.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The case of an Indian family whose daughter was kidnapped for adoption is not an isolated one.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>‘Quick and easy’ runs counter to proper process</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://www.hcch.net/upload/outline33e.pdf">subsidiarity principle</a> outlined in the <a href="http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=text.display&tid=45">Hague Convention provisions on adoption</a> requires governments to consider in-country solutions first. This is one of the issues scheduled for discussion at the <a href="http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=progress.listing&cat=8">Special Commission meeting</a> of the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) in June 2015. </p>
<p>According to the <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx">Convention on the Rights of the Child</a> and the subsidiarity principle in the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption, children have a right to be raised by their families, families are entitled to support, and suitable <a href="http://www.unicef.org/protection/alternative_care_Guidelines-English.pdf">in-country alternative care must be provided</a>. </p>
<p>Where intercountry adoption is an option, re-unification is usually not extensively pursued if at all. Not finding the child’s family, or failing to provide families with support, turns on the green light for adoptions to proceed. Children become “abandoned” or <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-business-of-orphanages-where-do-orphans-come-from-38485">“orphans” on paper</a> for this purpose.</p>
<p>For many, the convention on adoption is interpreted as a means to make adoption happen quickly. Thus, if re-unification with family members takes too long, adoption can be considered (see chapter six of the Hague Convention <a href="http://www.hcch.net/upload/adoguide_e.pdf">Guide to Good Practice</a>). </p>
<p>Few resources are committed to a child’s right to their family and culture. A child’s right to their family is often <a href="https://www.brandeis.edu/investigate/adoption/bgop-ed.html">over-ridden by a Western view</a> of what “family” means and a sense of urgency for permanency through adoption. Intercountry adoption in the “best interests” of children is well resourced. </p>
<p>This presents complex questions as children should have stability, but there are other ways of providing good care and stability until the need for adoption is properly determined. The mantra of “children looking for a permanent family” is often used in adoption circles to justify adoption, but at what point does “permanent family” no longer mean their own family? It is important that children are not legally separated from their families and countries until all avenues, including family assistance, are legitimately exhausted.</p>
<p>The risk is that influential parties who support speedier and easier adoptions will use the Hague meeting in June to push for time frames that will effectively extinguish re-unification possibilities and legitimise unnecessarily speedy processes.</p>
<p>Searching and re-unification are time-consuming and resource-intensive. But these processes are not impossible and are undertaken by some international and smaller organisations. An Australian adoptee was even able to find his own family in India using Google Earth.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">One adoptee in Australia tracked down his own family in India using Google Earth.</span></figcaption>
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<p>A problem arises when the agency tasked with finding a child’s family is often the same one facilitating adoptions. Some seem to believe that there is nothing wrong with an open market in children where children move seamlessly across borders in both directions much like goods and services in global economies and trade agreements. Others have a commitment to safeguarding children’s rights and the rights of families affected by adoption who do not have a voice, and are concerned about the long-term effects on everyone when adoptions are not conducted well.</p>
<p>Adoption as the permanency solution appears to have taken on a religious fervour to the exclusion of all else. But one size never fits all.</p>
<h2>Focus must be on original family first</h2>
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_adoption">Open adoptions</a> will also be under discussion at the Hague as a means of offering a remedial response to the separation of families. Where adoption does occur, open adoption is important.</p>
<p>However, the realities of intercountry adoption may mean this is just an aspiration – assuming the definition refers to open and continuing relationships between the children, their families and adoptive families. Because there are no enforcements for adoptive parents to continue such costly and emotionally difficult arrangements, it is likely to remain aspirational. </p>
<p>A small number of adoptive parents most certainly do establish and maintain contact, especially in those cases where they have discovered corruption or child trafficking. These adoptive parents have gone out of their way to find the child’s family, placing the child’s needs first.</p>
<p>It would be a sad day if discussions about the subsidiarity principle resulted in setting time frames to speed up intercountry adoptions, instead of redirecting resources to re-unification, family sustainability and appropriate in-country care before adoption is considered. A proper process benefits everyone. </p>
<p>So what should “proper process” mean? I suppose it comes down to what you would expect if it was your child who was missing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42108/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patricia Fronek does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Most of the world’s ‘orphans’ are not orphans at all and many are caught up in a global trade in meeting demand for adoption. Making intercountry adoption easier adds to the risks for these children.Patricia Fronek, Senior Lecturer, School of Human Services and Social Work, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.