Human Trafficking and Intercountry Adoption

ABSTRACT

Intercountry adoption (ICA) is the subject of polarized and contentious debates that can be expressed as “child rescue” versus “child trafficking.” This article describes the parallels between ICA and human trafficking, the international agreements that govern ICA and human trafficking, the evidence for fraud and corruption in some ICAs, and the conditions under which ICA can be considered trafficking. It concludes with recommendations for reform of ICA: addressing poverty and corruption as root causes, eliminating loopholes in international agreements, and ensuring protection for birth mothers and families.

KEYWORDS:

• Child adoption
• child trafficking
• Hague convention
• human trafficking
• intercountry adoption
• international adoption
• transnational adoption

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Katelyn E. Poelker for helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.