The unresearched phenomenon which affects 153,000,000 children worldwide

Orphans. A word that has always been present – in the Bible, in the pages of history, in culture, in academia, and in politics. Wherever there have been human beings, wherever human society was established, in war, and when the fighting ended. Orphans and widows are mentioned 38 times in the Torah. Why has the phenomenon of orphanhood, which is relevant for 153 million children worldwide, never been studied in depth? This is the question that Hadar Kass, founder of the Sunflowers social movement, asks herself daily.

Kass began her social mission following the loss of her father at the age of 14: “I was the only one in the class who didn’t have a father. When I turned to a school counselor and the welfare department for assistance, they said they couldn’t help me, so I found myself looking for help in bad places. At age 16, I attended a leadership development organization, which served as a platform to establish Sunflowers –a supportive and risk-preventing framework for orphans, something I didn’t have when I needed it so badly.” When Kass established Sunflowers, she realized that there was a tremendous shortage in the field of research on civilian orphanhood – both in Israel and around the world – and created the first orphanage report of its kind in the world, enlisting researchers from Tel Aviv University and Bar-Ilan University, as well as professionals in the field from the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs.

The study conducted by Sunflowers on orphanhood and their deterioration into risk situations was the first and only study in the world to indicate a link between the phenomenon of untreated orphanhood and the development and existence of risk factors among orphans. The same research suggested that the lack of support and care for orphans at young ages can have devastating consequences in adolescence: Four times as many orphans are arrested, ten times as many orphans become at-risk youth,  thirteen times as many drop out of school, and fifteen times as many suffer from eating disorders. Added to this are the long-term consequences – an addition to drugs and alcohol eight times that is eight times higher, and a much greater possibility – 25 times higher –  of entering prostitution.

In preparation for the publication of the Orphanhood Report for 2023, Kass revealed a pair of shocking new data indicators – orphaned women are 14 times more likely to suffer from domestic violence, and that the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder among orphans is six times higher than among the non-orphan population. 

“We still have a long way to go when it comes to the study of orphanhood and its implications,” says Kass, “It is a huge privilege for me to lead the only body in Israel and the world that has made it its mission to investigate a phenomenon with severe and significant consequences affecting 153 million children all over the world. I am very concerned about the lack of research regarding orphanhood. Research is the basis for any treatment of a social problem. A comprehensive study of the consequences of untreated orphanhood will enable the State of Israel and other countries around the world to provide appropriate and proper care for orphans.” Kass clarifies that while there is indeed research on loss and bereavement among children, there is no multidisciplinary study that provides a snapshot of the implications of untreated orphanhood on all areas of the orphan’s life (scholastic, social, familial, etc.).

Against the backdrop of this sad reality, Kass is currently working on establishing a dedicated research department, the first of its kind in Israel and around the world, which will be dedicated to in-depth and comprehensive research of orphanhood, including the various consequences of untreated orphanhood. At the same time, the department will evaluate and measure risk-reducing care models for orphans, which the organization developed individually.

Kass recruited ten leading doctors and professors on a voluntary basis from educational and research institutions in Israel and around the world, whose field of research focuses on loss and bereavement and are interested in advising on the process of building the research department, as well as eight Israeli universities and colleges that have expressed a desire to take part in the process. 

Currently, Kass devotes most of her efforts to raising funds for the establishment of the department, noting that “it is more complex to raise money for a field perceived as theoretical. But in my opinion, this is the most important step to consolidate any social movement, since it is the basis for creating a significant social impact in the long term.” Kass’s remarks gain additional validity concerning the organization’s ties with the government. She provides an example in this context: “If we can prove that orphanhood significantly impairs attention and the ability of orphans to concentrate in the year following the loss of a parent and thereby confirm the children’s dropout rate from school, we can enlist the government ministries in our struggle, by funding individual remedial hours for these orphans during the year following the loss of their parent. In this way, we will save tens of thousands of children from dropping out of the education systems and save millions of shekels from the Israeli economy, which are invested every year for the rehabilitation of these children.”

Kass’s words are confirmed by Dr. Rivi Frey, Head of the Department of Special Education and Head of the Loss and Stress Research Lab from a Multicultural Perspective at Achva Academic College. “Experience in the field shows that every field in which research is carried out is advancing towards developing more precise responses to the relevant population. In fact, academic research not only provides more precise knowledge of needs but also constitutes a source of funding for the operation of innovative pilot programs accompanied by evaluation research. Research in Israel about orphans is limited due to the lack of appropriate funding sources. Research is a necessary tool in a chain that ends with providing a tailored response to orphans in various life frameworks.”

Despite the meager amount of knowledge regarding research into orphanhood and its implications, Kass concludes her remarks on an optimistic note, “We in Israel are used to thinking about short-term problem solving, but in the case of orphans of civil bereavement, who number approximately 153 million children worldwide, we must understand how to focus our efforts and act intelligently,  in order to create a significant social impact in the field. I am confident that just as Israel stands at the forefront of global research in other fields, it will spearhead research in orphanhood and will export its knowledge to the entire world.”