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The Childhood, Law & Policy Network (CLPN)

Dr Kristen Cheney

Kristen

Director of the School of Child and Youth Care, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Email: kcheney@uvic.ca

Profile

"Dr. Cheney’s research deals with children’s survival strategies amidst difficult circumstances and the politics of international development and humanitarian intervention for such children, primarily in Eastern and Southern Africa. Her work takes an explicitly child-centered approach that considers how children experience and respond to the various hegemonic institutional and structural elements of global and local development practices.
Her most recent research examines the impact of the global 'orphan industrial complex'—including orphan tourism, childcare institutions, and intercountry adoption—on child protection in developing countries. Author of two monographs, one edited volume, and many articles, she has also led several studies using youth participatory research to explore issues of young people’s sexual and reproductive health, including as PI for the Oak Foundation project Adolescents’ Perceptions of Healthy Relationships project (2017-2021). "

Research

Publications

Expertise

Humanitarianism, orphanhood, adoption, alternative care, child protection, participatory methodology, international development practice, sexual and reproductive health
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