Recent from talks
Restavek
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Restavek
A restavek (or restavec) is a child in Haiti who is sent away by their parents to live with a host household as a form of informal adoption because the parents lack the resources required to support the child. The term comes from the French language rester avec, "to stay with". Parents unable to care for children may send them to live with wealthier (or less poor) families, often their own relatives or friends. Often the children are from rural areas, and relatives who host restaveks live in more urban settings. The expectation is that the children will be given food and housing (and sometimes an education) free of charge in exchange for helping with chores. Although most honor their commitments, some host households do not fulfill their promises to the restaveks' parents; these children live a standard below others in the household, may not receive proper education, and are at grave risk for physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.
The restavek system is tolerated in Haitian culture, but not considered to be preferable[citation needed]. The practice meets formal international definitions of modern day slavery and child trafficking, and is believed to affect an estimated 300,000 Haitian children. The number of child domestic workers in Haiti, defined as 1) living away from parents' home; 2) not following normal progression in education; and 3) working more than other children, is more than 400,000. 25% of Haitian children age 5–17 live away from their biological parents.
The restavek tradition dates back centuries.
Following the January 2010 earthquake, thousands of individuals in Haiti were displaced from their homes and families. According to anecdotal evidence, many of these individuals were children who had nowhere to turn but to become part of the Haitian restavèk population. Along with displacement due to natural disasters, children are solicited as restavèks by recruiters looking to find domestic servants for families.
Many street children are former domestic servants who were dismissed by or ran away from the families they worked for. These children have not fully escaped the restavèk life. Instead, they become part of a different level that results in their exploitation in begging rings and prostitution.
Many parents send their children to be restaveks, expecting them to have a better life than possible in poor rural areas. Poor rural parents who cannot provide their children with clean water, food, and education send them away, usually to cities, to find these opportunities as restaveks.
Restaveks are unpaid and have no power or recourse within the host family. Unlike slaves in the traditional sense, restaveks can run away or return to their families, and are typically released from servitude when they become adults; however, the restavek system is commonly understood to be a form of slavery. Often host families dismiss their restaveks before they turn 15, since by law that is the age when they are supposed to be paid; many are then turned out to live on the street. Increasingly, paid middlemen act as recruiters to place children with host families, and it is becoming more common to place children with strangers. Children often have no way to get back in touch with their families.
A 2009 study by the Pan American Development Foundation found that "leading indicators of restavèk treatment include work expectations equivalent to adult servants and long hours that surpass the cultural norm for children's work at home." A contradicting 2002 survey found that restaveks were allowed to sleep as long as or longer than the household children, received fewer beatings, 60 percent or more attended school, and many had their own bed or mat.
Hub AI
Restavek AI simulator
(@Restavek_simulator)
Restavek
A restavek (or restavec) is a child in Haiti who is sent away by their parents to live with a host household as a form of informal adoption because the parents lack the resources required to support the child. The term comes from the French language rester avec, "to stay with". Parents unable to care for children may send them to live with wealthier (or less poor) families, often their own relatives or friends. Often the children are from rural areas, and relatives who host restaveks live in more urban settings. The expectation is that the children will be given food and housing (and sometimes an education) free of charge in exchange for helping with chores. Although most honor their commitments, some host households do not fulfill their promises to the restaveks' parents; these children live a standard below others in the household, may not receive proper education, and are at grave risk for physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.
The restavek system is tolerated in Haitian culture, but not considered to be preferable[citation needed]. The practice meets formal international definitions of modern day slavery and child trafficking, and is believed to affect an estimated 300,000 Haitian children. The number of child domestic workers in Haiti, defined as 1) living away from parents' home; 2) not following normal progression in education; and 3) working more than other children, is more than 400,000. 25% of Haitian children age 5–17 live away from their biological parents.
The restavek tradition dates back centuries.
Following the January 2010 earthquake, thousands of individuals in Haiti were displaced from their homes and families. According to anecdotal evidence, many of these individuals were children who had nowhere to turn but to become part of the Haitian restavèk population. Along with displacement due to natural disasters, children are solicited as restavèks by recruiters looking to find domestic servants for families.
Many street children are former domestic servants who were dismissed by or ran away from the families they worked for. These children have not fully escaped the restavèk life. Instead, they become part of a different level that results in their exploitation in begging rings and prostitution.
Many parents send their children to be restaveks, expecting them to have a better life than possible in poor rural areas. Poor rural parents who cannot provide their children with clean water, food, and education send them away, usually to cities, to find these opportunities as restaveks.
Restaveks are unpaid and have no power or recourse within the host family. Unlike slaves in the traditional sense, restaveks can run away or return to their families, and are typically released from servitude when they become adults; however, the restavek system is commonly understood to be a form of slavery. Often host families dismiss their restaveks before they turn 15, since by law that is the age when they are supposed to be paid; many are then turned out to live on the street. Increasingly, paid middlemen act as recruiters to place children with host families, and it is becoming more common to place children with strangers. Children often have no way to get back in touch with their families.
A 2009 study by the Pan American Development Foundation found that "leading indicators of restavèk treatment include work expectations equivalent to adult servants and long hours that surpass the cultural norm for children's work at home." A contradicting 2002 survey found that restaveks were allowed to sleep as long as or longer than the household children, received fewer beatings, 60 percent or more attended school, and many had their own bed or mat.