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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The Bridge to Belonging: The Integration Journey for Unaccompanied Children from the Middle East to Europe

Family for Every Child, 01 Feb 2023

This report examines what happens after unaccompanied children have arrived at their European destinations and is based on interviews with key informants, a literature review, and research in three sites (Lebanon, Greece and Germany). What does it mean to integrate into a new society when you are a child on your own? How do they face the challenges of building an identity without their families, process the violence and dangers of their journeys, and face a new situation that may not be as welcoming or straightforward as they had expected?

Fontos Megfontolások A Gyermekek Humanitárius Válsághelyzetben Való Menekítéséhez

Changing the Way We Care, 12 Jan 2023

Ezt az útmutatót azoknak a szolgáltatóknak állítottuk össze, akik gyermekekkel, családokkal és elszakított gyermekekkel foglalkoznak, válaszul a jelenlegi ukrajnai és környező országok humanitárius helyzetére.

Combination of “Parenting with Tenderness” and “Parenting on the Move” in Migratory Contexts: Successes, challenges, and recommendations

Save the Children Spain, 01 Dec 2022

The objective of this Save the Children Spain document is to gather the key findings of the combination of “Parenting with tenderness” and “Parenting on the move” in migratory contexts. It also seeks to improve the quality of its implementation in the context of Mexican migration, based on good practices and lessons learned.

Mixed Migration Center, 30 Nov 2022

This snapshot produced by Mixed Migration Center examines environmental drivers of international mobility and their interactions with other migration drivers in East and the Horn of Africa. The aim is to provide national and regional policy actors with some empirical data on the links between climate change and international mobility, to inform discussions on future activities and policy directions.

Protection Risks of Rohingya Refugees in Malaysia

Mixed Migration Centre, 30 Oct 2022

This snapshot documents the experience of Rohingya refugees in Malaysia, shedding light on protection risks that negatively impact their safety and well-being. This snapshot is one of a series that focuses on Rohingya journeys and experiences in Southeast Asia, with the key objective of contributing to building a solid evidence base to inform advocacy and protection programming for Rohingya refugees in the region.

The "Children of War" Platform Launches in Ukraine

Office of the President of Ukraine, 17 Oct 2022

The "Children of War" platform was created on behalf of the Office of the President of Ukraine as a tool for finding children, rescuing them and liberating them from places of forced displacement or deportation.

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The Transformation Process of Casa Eudes of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

Changing the Way We Care, 07 Oct 2022

This case study highlights the transition of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd in Ciudad Juarez. It is an honest look at the emotional, logistical, and practical elements involved in transitioning from a residential care model which existed for more than 100 years to a provider of community-based and family-centered services.

Reunifying or Leaving a Child Behind: How Official and Unofficial State Selection Shape Family Immigration in France

Julia Descamps, Cris Beauchemin, 29 Sep 2022

This paper aims to analyse how State policies, on the book and in practice, shape family reunification. It focuses on child migration under constraint in France, by analysing the timing and factors of (non-)reunification among foreign immigrants, whose legal conditions for family reunification are much more restrictive than for those who obtained the French citizenship.

Pathways to Statelessness and Parent-Child Separation Among Uyghurs in Turkey

Marie-Ève Melanson, 19 Sep 2022

This paper contributes to the scholarship on refugee law and resettlement by exploring the ways in which the crisis in the Uyghur homeland in Turkey has impacted and continues to impact Uyghurs’ refugee narratives and priorities as they reorganize their lives in the diaspora.

Reunifying or Leaving a Child Behind: How Official and Unofficial State Selection Shape Family Immigration in France

Julia Descamps, Cris Beauchemin, 11 Sep 2022