Проблема дітей-сиріт та небажаних дітей в соціально-політичному розвитку України: історична ретроспектива й сучасність
Authors: Stadniczenko Olha , Tryma Kateryna 
Published: December 2024

Efficient socialization of orphans and unwanted children remains one of the pertinent social problems in modern Ukraine. Children raised in orphanages and boarding schools often struggle with socialization, finding it difficult to resolve conflicts that arise in their interactions with others, and they may exhibit more primitive forms of communication. This article explores the issue of orphanhood in Ukraine through a historical lens, demonstrating its enduring relevance throughout the country’s history, and they argue that successfully addressing this problem can have a positive impact on the socio‑political development of the state. Throughout the study, the domestic experience in addressing the issue of unwanted children and orphans is examined, going back to the establishment and development of Kyivan Rus, when the concept of providing assistance, care, and education to orphans in church schools and monasteries became widespread. By the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, an official state policy regarding orphans and unwanted children had developed. Charitable and church guardianship gradually transitioned to a state system of institutions, which became known as orphanages. It is demonstrated that mass homelessness was not a widespread issue in Ukraine until the early twentieth century; however, it became prevalent in the 1920s due to factors such as the civil war, the First World War, the 1921 drought, and crop failures from 1922 to 1924. The state assumed custody of children and responsibility for their care, leading to the establishment of new specialized institutions for children without parental care. After the Second World War, the existing system of state protection for orphans and unwanted children in Ukraine saw minimal change and failed to provide suitable living and developmental conditions for children. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, a new wave of child homelessness emerged amidst the collapse of the social system of the former Soviet state. Unemployment rates soared, and significant social stratification occurred within the population. Statistical data indicates an increase in the number of children deprived of parental care in Ukraine from 2003 to 2006. However, in subsequent years, with improvements in the country’s socio‑economic situation and the efforts of relevant state bodies, progress began to be made in addressing the issue of children deprived of parental care. Nevertheless, new social challenges emerged, notably the widespread phenomenon of “social orphanhood.”Thus, throughout the history of the independent Ukrainian state, the situation in the field of child protection has been complicated by existing political and socio‑economic challenges in Ukraine. As of 2019, the number of orphans and children deprived of parental care registered with the state was 68,877 children. It is concluded that this issue poses a significant challenge to the socio‑political stability of the state and requires further steps to address it. The factors contributing to the increase in the number of orphans are primarily related to changes in social and family values, rather than solely to economic factors. Despite efforts by the authorities, by the end of 2021, the social protection system for children in Ukraine did not show a significant decrease in the number of orphans and orphanages. The existing mechanisms for providing social services to families facing difficult circumstances cannot currently be considered sufficiently effective, necessitating further work in this direction.