Children and Migration

Millions of children around the world are affected by migration. This includes girls and boys who migrate within and between countries (usually with their families but sometimes on their own), as well as children ‘left behind’ when their parents or caregivers migrate in search of economic opportunities. Be it forced or voluntary, by adults or children, migration affects children’s care situations and can entail risks to their protection.

Children on the move: Like adults, children often migrate in an attempt to build a better life – to escape poverty, discrimination or conflict, and to find education, employment and other opportunities. Others relocate due to an unstable or difficult family environment, such as the loss of a parent, or neglect or abuse from a caregiver. Children may migrate with or without their families, and their movements may be temporary, seasonal or permanent.

While migration can open up new opportunities for children, it can also expose them to harmful care situations, chronic poverty, violence and exploitation. During transit and at their destination, migrant children may end up in unsafe institutions, detention centres, on the streets or in overcrowded, poor-quality accommodation. Others who migrate to join households (e.g. for fostering, education, domestic work or apprenticeships) may be subjected to exploitation. Many migrant children, particularly those without documentation, end up without access to education, protection or basic services, while discrimination and language barriers make it difficult for them to reintegrate into new communities.

Children left behind. An increasing number of children around the world are also adversely affected when migrating parents leave home to seek out employment or economic opportunities (often in urban centres). While children may gain materially from remittances sent home, the absence of a parent may be detrimental to their social and psychological development. In particular, the nature and quality of children’s care relationships may suffer as they adjust to life without a loved caregiver and try to replace a physically and emotionally nurturing relationship with someone new.

Studies from around the world indicate that children left behind by migrating caretakers face education, health and psychosocial problems, including deteriorating academic performance and lower school attendance, greater risk of drug abuse, early pregnancy, involvement in criminal activities and social dysfunction. Left behind children may suffer from low self-esteem and feelings of abandonment, and in the worst cases may be vulnerable to violence, abuse and trafficking. While new or remaining caretakers can offer children a protective and caring environment they may also struggle to care for them without support, and breakdown of these relationships can sometimes result in children’s placement in harmful institutional care.

The documents in this section focus on the impact of migration on children’s care situations, and outline policy, advocacy and programmatic measures to enhance child migrants’ protection.

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Unaccompanied Minors in Greece and Italy: An Exploration of the Challenges for Social Work within Tighter Immigration and Resource Constraints in Pandemic Times

Ravinder Barn, Roberta Teresa Di Rosa and Theano Kallinikaki - Social Sciences, 12 Apr 2021

Through an analysis of the impact of the pandemic on the Italian and Greek reception systems and social interventions with unaccompanied minors (UAMs), the authors of this study utilised a multiple embedded case study approach within a comparative analysis, to identify key changes in the main services which should be guaranteed to minors—namely, hosting/housing, guardianship, foster care, family/relatives reunification, school integration, language, job training for care leaving, and preparation for leaving care after 18 years.

“Se extraña todo:” Family separation and reunification experiences among unaccompanied adolescent migrants from Central America

Sita G. Patel, Vicky Bouche, William Martinez, Karla Barajas, Alex Garcia, Maya Sztainer, Kathleen Hawkins - New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 09 Apr 2021

This study used community‐participatory qualitative methods to deeply explore the lived experiences and emotional repercussions of family separation and reunification.

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The situation and well-being of custodial grandparents in Myanmar: Impacts of adult children's cross-border and internal migration

Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan, Timothy Qing Ying Low B. - Social Science & Medicine, 01 Apr 2021

Analyzing unique data from the 2017 Myanmar Grandparents Caring for Grandchildren Survey, this study examines the extent to which the middle generation's cross-border and internal migration are associated with caregiving intensity, perception towards grandchild care, and psychological well-being among grandparents.

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A Web of Insecurity: Gendered risks and vulnerabilities for children on the move during the COVID-19 pandemic

The International Data Alliance for Children on the Move (IDAC), 01 Apr 2021

This issue brief surveys the existing literature based on the limited available data to highlight areas of urgent concern for children on the move as they navigate life during the pandemic, examined through the lens of gender.

Expert Report: Access to Documents by Eritrean Refugees in the Context of Family Reunification

Daniel Mekonnen & Sara Palacios Arapiles - Equal Rights Beyond Borders and the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), 01 Apr 2021

This Independent Expert Report is concerned with challenges experienced by Eritrean refugees in Europe in the context of family reunification processes, in particular those relating to strict documentary requirements demanded by some EU Member States, in particular Germany.

Children on the Run: The Reception and Integration of Unaccompanied Minors in Israel and Germany

Hannes Käckmeister, Hadas Yaron Mesgena - Journal of Refugee Studies, 29 Mar 2021

This article compares the reception and integration of unaccompanied minors (UM) in the two countries with a particular focus on their access to education and employment.

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Left‐behind children's social adjustment and relationship with parental coping with children's negative emotions during the COVID‐19 pandemic in China

Yining Wang, Wen Liu, Weiwei Wang, Shuang Lin, Danhua Lin, Hongli Wang - International Journal of Psychology, 19 Mar 2021

Using data collected from two provinces in China through an online survey, the current study aimed to investigate left‐behind children's emotional and academic adjustment during the COVID‐19 pandemic in China.

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The Path to Adulthood: A Mixed-Methods Approach to the Exploration of the Experiences of Unaccompanied Minors in Portugal

Carla Moleiro, Sandra Roberto - Journal of Refugee Studies, 19 Mar 2021

The objective of the present study was to characterize unaccompanied minors in Portugal and understand the processes of transition into the age of majority, using a mixed-methods approach.

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Young, unauthorised and Black: African unaccompanied minors and becoming an adult in Italy

Sarah Walker, Yasmin Gunaratnam - Journal of Sociology, 02 Mar 2021

This article is based on ethnographic fieldwork in an Italian reception centre for male ‘unaccompanied minors’. The article examines the political ambivalence of hospitality for young African men as they transition to adulthood and how this is experienced through the intersections of age, gender and race.

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The family crisis migration stress framework: A framework to understand the mental health effects of crisis migration on children and families caused by disasters

Saskia R. Vos, Aaron Clark‐Ginsberg, Sofia Puente‐Duran, et al - New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 26 Feb 2021

This article synthesizes relevant theories and models of disaster, migration, and family resilience in order to create a framework in which to organize the complex processes that occur within families as a result of migration and that affect the mental health of children.

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