CHILD TRAFFICKING

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KIDS ABROAD. A Terre des Hommes study on ways of
making migration less unsafe for children
Mike Dottridge Independent consultant Brussels,
25 February 2009
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• THE FULL TITLE OF THE STUDY IS
• Kids abroad ignore them, abuse them or protect
  them? Lessons on how to protect children on the
  move from being exploited

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PRESENTION INCLUDES

• Part 1. Summary of the studys contents, notably
  on Europe,
• Part 2. Conclusions and recommendations of the
  Terre des Hommes study

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PART 1
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SUBJECT OF THE STUDY

• The study does not focus specifically on
  techniques to prevent children from being
  trafficked or to protect children who have been
  trafficked
• It looks more broadly at protection
  methods/techniques which have protected separated
  children against various types of abuse,
  including economic and sexual exploitation

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STUDYS CONTENTS

• Two of the 10 chapters focus on Europe
• One describes protection methods tried in South
  East Europe and the Baltic States
• A second describes the situation in Western
  Europe
• Other examples are cited from Central America,
  West Africa, and South and Southeast Asia

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Separated and unaccompanied children migrate
within their countries and across borders for
diverse reasons and in diverse circumstances
rather obvious!
MAIN OBSERVATIONS
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Some are trafficked for sexual purposes or resort
to commercial sex as a survival tactic
Girls aged 13 and 16 interviewed in Brazils
Amazonia in 1992
Photo credit Alison Sutton / Anti-Slavery
International (1992)
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Some resort to crime or are exploited by criminals

• Albanian children taken to Greece to beg (2003)

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Many around the world work full-time before the
age of 14

• Some are in servitude, but not all

Photo credit Terre des Hommes
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Many think they are better off than before
Boys returning to Mali after working in
neighbouring Cote dIvoire
Photo credit Terre des Hommes
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SO

• It would be incorrect to assume that it is not in
  the best interests of some children to leave home
  and migrate, whether aged 17, 15 or 13

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THE STUDY REVIEWS PROTECTION TECHNIQUES AROUND
THE WORLD

• Targeting children before they leave home to help
  them later on
• While they are in transit
• To keep them in contact with relatives or others
  concerned about their welfare
• When they arrive at a new destination
• And once they start earning money.

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PROTECTION TECHNIQUES TO

• Enhance the capacity of an individual child to
  protect herself or himself
• Enable children to organise collectively to
  protect themselves, once away from home
• Techniques to enable families to protect their
  children more effectively
• Techniques which focus on the community as a
  whole.

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AND GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

• Governments have a legal responsibility to
  protect separated children, but often duck this
  responsibility by sending children back home
• And failing to take other action to protect
  separated children

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IN SOUTH EAST EUROPE AND THE BALTIC, EFFORTS TO
IMPROVE PROTECTION INCLUDE

• Information advice in schools
• Giving adolescents advice and suggesting
  precautions when they travel
• Providing subsidies to households where children
  are mostly likely to abandon school before
  school-leaving age
• Developing child protection mechanisms at
  community level, in the communities concerned
  (e.g., Roma communities).

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IN WESTERN EUROPE

• Governments reckon state-run child protection
  services should protect separated children
• Their prime consideration seems to be to return
  child migrants from outside the EU back home
• Governments seem confused regarding their
  response to separated children arriving from
  other EU countries
• NGOs play a marginal role in delivering services
  and focus on advocacy

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ENIGMAS

• Is acting in the best interests of the child
  always a priority for government agencies,
  international organisations and NGOs?
• Some organisations are unwilling to give young
  people advice on the precautions to take when
  migrating for fear that their organisation might
  subsequently be criticised (if the precautions
  prove ineffective)

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DANGER!

• That Western European governments subordinate
  childrens best interests to issues of national
  security (i.e., policies on immigration)
• That the interests of organisations sometimes
  take precedence over the interests of children

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PART 2CONCLUSIONS RECOMMENDATIONS
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THE OVERALL CONCLUSION OF THE STUDY IS THAT

• More could and should be done to prevent
  migration being unsafe for young people under 18
  

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CONCLUSION 1

• Not enough assistance and support is provided to
  children who are in transit (moving from one
  place to another).
• More ideas are needed about the ways to make
  suitable assistance and support available.

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CONCLUSION 2

• Better and more imaginative use can be made of
  communications and information technology to
  protect children, e.g. by ensuring they stay in
  contact with others while travelling and after
  reaching their destination.

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CONCLUSION 3

• Organisations trying to stop children being
  abused and exploited are still not sure whether
  their objective should be to stop children
  migrating (or working) or to make it safer for
  them to do so.
• So, Make sure your priorities are in the best
  interests of children

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CONCLUSION 4

• While it may sometimes be appropriate to try and
  stop young children from moving away from home
  and entering the world of work prematurely
• It is not appropriate to assume that young people
  should remain at home until they are 18.

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CONCLUSION 5

• It is justifiable to intercept children when
  there is evidence of a strong probability that
  they will be abused if they continue on their
  way.
• But intercepting girl and boy migrants is not
  justifiable, if there is no evidence that a large
  proportion do in fact end up in abuse.
• Dont manipulate statistics (about levels of
  abuse) to justify government policy

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CONCLUSION 6

• It is vital to listen to children, as well as
  involving them as actors in efforts to enhance
  child protection

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CONCLUSION 7

• Making gradual changes to existing protection
  systems can bring definite benefits to children
  (so dont assume that meaningful change can only
  come about if there is a radical shift).

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CONCLUSION 8

• Not enough attention has been given to
  understanding indigenous practices which have
  the effect of protecting children from harm,
• i.e. techniques which benefit children in
  particular or which help migrants in general
• This topic has come under focus recently in West
  Africa

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CONCLUSION 9

• Many of the effective forms of assistance
  provided to children on the move would be
  expensive to replicate for all such children.

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CONCLUSION 10

• Coordination between different agencies is vital,
  including organisations based in different
  countries

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SO, REMEMBER AGAIN!

• You can probably do more to prevent migration
  being unsafe for young people under 18

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!
Mike Dottridge Independent consultant E-mail
mikedottridge_at_btopenworld.com