A Review of the Literature on Deinstitutionalisation and Child Protection Reform in South Asia

Abstract

Knowledge about child protection system reform and deinstitutionalisation in South Asian countries is scarce. This study explores the legislative frameworks and literature on deinstitutionalisation in eight South Asian countries, to consolidate the knowledge, explore the challenges and propose strategies to overcome the difficulties associated with this reform. South Asia, home to almost 25per cent of the world’s population, or 1.8 billion people ( The World Bank, 2019 ), is culturally complex and requires a variety of solutions to keep all its children safe. This study introduces three strategies that could promote deinstitutionalisation in South Asia: (1) utilising a regional approach, (2) decentralised implementation and (3) capitalising on traditional alternative care practices. Future studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies in each country.