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Children on the move
As of January 2016, an estimated 30 million children are on the move, both within and between countries, with or without their parents. They are part of large-scale population movements currently taking place in many parts of the world.
Children on the move are those children moving for a variety of reasons, voluntary or involuntary within or between countries, with or without their parents or other primary caregivers, and whose movement might place them at risk (or at an increased risk) of inadequate care, economic or sexual exploitation, abuse, neglect or violence.
Children on the move is an umbrella term that brings together a series of categories of children to highlight their common protection needs, including, children who have been trafficked, children who migrate (e.g. to pursue better life opportunities, to look for work or education or to escape exploitative or abusive situations at home, or because of other protection needs), children displaced by conflict and natural disasters and children who live and work in the streets.
Movement can help children and their families improve their living standards and life opportunities. However, children do not always benefit from such potentials. Child protection policies and interventions should refocus to place the protection of the child at the centre as well as the need to support the positive aspects of mobility.
Save the Children’s goal is that all children, including those on the move and in emergencies, have appropriate care either from their own families or community-based alternatives.
Photo: Pedro Armestre/Save the Children
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Broken Dreams: Central American children's dangerous journey to the United States
Broken Dreams: Central American children's dangerous journey to the United States shares the obstacles and dangers that children and adolescents face as they journey to the United States. UNICEF reports that in the first six months of 2016, almost 26,000
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This is Who We Are: A study of the profile, experiences and reasons for flight of unaccompanied and separated children from Afghanistan seeking asylum in Sweden in 2015
Written in collaboration with the Swedish Migration Agency, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) profiled over 240 unaccompanied and separated children, focusing on Afghan children, arriving in Sweden in order to begin addressing the information
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Save the Children's Rescue at Sea
In September 2016, Save the Children launched the Mediterranean rescue operation Rescue at Sea. During its three months of operation, Save the Children’s search and rescue team, aboard the organisation’s rescue ship Vos Hestia, rescued over 2,700 lives, i
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Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2016
The third of its kind, the 2016 UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons covers 136 countries and provides an overview of patterns and flows of human trafficking at global, regional, and national levels. The UNODC, having systematically collected dat
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Mental Health and Psychosocial Support for Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Migrants on the Move in Europe: A multi-agency guidance note
An unprecedented number of individuals and families, including increasing numbers of children, have crossed the Mediterranean and Aegean seas in an attempt to reach safety and security in Europe. This guidance note, prepared my multiple agencies, provides
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Rights of Migrant Women and Girls: A child rights perspective
This paper is part of a series of bridging papers looking at different points of the 5-year Action Plan for Collaboration from a child rights perspective. It analyses the gender dimension in migration, whether women or girls have migrated themselves or re
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Migrants Stranded in Distress: A child rights perspective
This paper is part of a series of bridging papers looking at different points of the 5-year Action Plan for Collaboration from a child rights perspective. Stranded migrants can come from any country and be stranded at any point of the migratory movement.
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Labour Rights for Migrant Workers: A child rights perspective
This paper is part of a series of bridging papers looking at different points of the 5-year Action Plan for Collaboration from a child rights perspective. The aim was to examine the specificities affecting children in the context of migration and inform m
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Interaction of International Mechanisms of Migrants' Rights Protection: A child rights perspective
This paper is part of a series of bridging papers looking at different points of the 5-year Action Plan for Collaboration from a child rights perspective. Child migrants are doubly vulnerable as both children and as migrants, putting them at heightened ri
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Att Möta Barn: Psykologernas tips till dig som möter barn på flykt
Psychologists from Save the Children Sweden talk about how to meet children on the move, child refugees, or children who have experienced trauma. In this series of four videos, psychologists talk about trauma, safety, feelings, and the need for healthy re
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Detained Youth: The fate of young migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees in Libya today
This study provides information on the current and ongoing detention of young migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees in Libya. Through in-depth interviews with former detainees, serious violations are revealed to have occurred in Libya’s immigration detent
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Understanding and applying a systems approach to child protection: a guide for programme staff
This guide aims at assisting programme staff in transitioning from programmes that focus on specific thematic issues or that target certain groups of children to programmes that address child protection through a systems lens. Amongst child protection org