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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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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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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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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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The Journey of Child Refugees
In this video, Save the Children interviews child refugees and their caretakers as they make the journey from Turkey to Greece, and onward to Macedonia.
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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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The Long Road- El Camino más Largo
Children face many dangers when they try to migrate to the United States: crossing rivers, deserts and mountains; climbing on top of cargo trains to make their way, unseen. Save the Children works to protect child migrants and to prevent unsafe and forced
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Journey to My Dreams- Child migration in Thailand
This short documentary, by Terre des Hommes, introduces child migration in Thailand. Often coming from Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia, children travel to the cities of Thailand in search of work. They are often unaccompanied and so far little is known about
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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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The Child's Right to Quality Care: Review of the implementation of the United Nations guidelines for the alternative care of children in Western Balkan countries
This review of the Implementation of the United Nations Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children in the Western Balkan Countries provides information on the capacities and efforts of the Republic of Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina in
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Situation Analysis of Children on the Move in Poland
This research was conducted as part of the Maria Project: Joint action to protect Central and South Eastern European migrant children from abuse, exploitation and trafficking in Europe. The main goal of this research was to assess the situation of childre
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When we are asked, not questioned: Consultations with children on the move
This Manual is designed for practitioners who are in direct contact with children on the move, institutions and organisations whose work is focused on these children, as well as relevant decision makers. Although the Manual primarily deals with meaningful