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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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A Child is a Child: Protecting children on the move from violence, abuse and exploitation
Due to the few opportunities for legal movement and migration, many of the children who are move alone are forced to rely on smugglers, putting them at risk for hazardous and exploitative situations. Traffickers and other exploitative persons thrive espec
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The Way Forward to Strengthened Policies and Practices for Unaccompanied and Separated Children in Europe
Regional and national laws in Europe provide a solid framework for child protection, based on international standards. However these laws have not systematically translated into a positive impact on the wellbeing of refugee and migrant children. Instead,
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Out of Sight, Exploited and Alone
This advocacy brief is a joint effort by 12 national and international humanitarian agencies responding to the needs of Unaccompanied or Separated Children (UASC) stranded in or on the move throughout the Balkans, specifically Bulgaria, the Former Yugosla
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Specialised Foster Care for Unaccompanied and Separated Children in Serbia: A case study
The case study Specialised Foster Care for Unaccompanied and Separated Children in Serbia provides an overview of the project that Save the Children realised in Serbia during the refugee crisis response (2016 – 2017). Working together with relevant instit
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Protecting Syrian Children en Route to Europe: A study conducted in Syria, along transit routes & in hosting countries
In December 2015, Altai Consulting was commissioned by Save the Children’s Middle East and Eurasia Regional Office to conduct a research study on the protection of children fleeing from the Syria conflict and traveling to Europe. Fieldwork was conducted o
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Youth on the Move: Investigating decision-making, migration trajectories and expectations of young people on the way to Italy
Since March 2016, more than 260,000 people have arrived on Italian shores. The majority of them are young people, with unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) accounting for up to 15% of all arrivals. In order to strengthen policymakers’ and humanitar
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Children Come First, Intervento in Frontiera: Dossier I
The general objective of the project "Children Come First: Intervention at the border" is to strengthen the system of protection and reception of migrant children arriving in Italy, whether they are separated or accompanied by their parents. As part of th
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Destination Unknown Institutional Learning Report 2017
In 2010, children on the move were literally non-existent in policies on children’s rights. Not being an organisation specialised in migration, TDH developed a new partnership strategy and launched the Destination Unknown campaign (DU campaign) for the pr
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Harrowing Journeys: Children and youth on the move across the Mediterranean Sea, at risk of trafficking and exploitation
Adolescents pay a high risk for a chance at a better life. The journey to Europe through the Mediterranean Sea is incredibly dangerous, especially for youth fleeing from Sub-Saharan Africa. A boy with a secondary education, travelling by group through thi
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Children on the Move: A crisis in the Northern Triangle, Mexico and USA
In the past two years, there has been a considerable increase in the number of unaccompanied children and adolescents from the Northern Triangle who migrate to the USA, and in the number of migrant families with children, particularly young women with chi
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Barns egna asylskäl: Om rätten att bli sedd som individ
Children have rights, the same as adults, yet they also have particular rights as children. This also applies to asylum-seeking children. These children can have the same reasons for seeking asylum as an adult, but also for reasons relevant to being a chi
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#Fearless- campaigning for children on the move
In a time where the refugee crisis went from public outrage to fear. In a time where Swedish politicians decided to go from openness to a ”European minimum” in live tv. In a time where bombs were killing children in Syria, while Sweden and Europe chose to