Children seeking safety and asylum in Europe

Situation 

The Central Mediterranean Sea crossing is one of the most dangerous migration routes in the world. Deaths and disappearances on this route tripled this summer compared to last. Most shipwrecks go unrecorded, and most don’t survive when ships capsize, so the true number of casualties is likely far higher.

An estimated 1 in 5 refugees and migrants making the perilous journey mostly from North Africa to Europe are children. More than 70 per cent of children arriving in Europe via this route are unaccompanied and separated children.

As more children flee their home countries in search of asylum, safety, peace, refuge, and better education and opportunities, the number of children putting their lives at risk by attempting to cross the Mediterranean will increase. 

Children and young people on the move face violence and discrimination in their home countries, experience violence, discrimination and exploitation on all legs of their journeys and in their countries of arrival. They also lack access to quality education. Deprivation, arduous journeys, combined with the uncertainty and difficulties of prolonged transit,  undermine the safety, physical and mental health of people on the move and breakdown their resilience. UNICEF’s Child Protection Programme supports countries to build national systems that provide a safe and secure environment for children and families.  

Solution 

UNICEF works with governments and partners on the ground to help meet children’s immediate needs, including safety, protection, health care and psychosocial support, nutrition and education; and support the integration of refugee and migrant children into the communities where they now live. We work to strengthen national child protection systems to benefit all vulnerable children. 

UNICEF advocates for the guarantee of search and rescue operations at sea, including safe disembarkation; community-based reception; and access to asylum and specialized care including health and protection services for children and pregnant mothers.

In addition to safeguarding refugee and migrant children in Europe, we work in their countries of origin to help address the root causes behind migration and forced displacement. This includes working to address poverty, poor quality education, climate change and environmental shocks, conflict and insecurity, which fuel global refugee and migrant movements.

Key priorities include:

Strengthening the protective environment for children and mothers at arrival, quarantine and transit points and increase the capacity of reception systems to respond to the specific needs of children, those transitioning to adulthood and women. 

Strengthening of the guardianship system. Since 2017, UNICEF has supported the establishment of a system of volunteer guardians, citizens who help unaccompanied and separated children in Italy access legal support, psycho-social services and learning and learning and employment opportunities. 

Providing mentoring for children and young people. Through a support network programme, mentors listen, orientate, encourage, create connections and opportunities, share knowledge and skills and help solve everyday problems.  

Ensuring children can live in a family environment through oster care The most natural environment for a child's growth and development is a family environment. Since 2017, UNICEF’s foster care programme has involved unaccompanied and separated children and families to promote awareness-raising activities at local level, training of potential foster families, identification and support to unaccompanied and separated children, and ensure ongoing support and monitoring of foster care projects. 

Strengthening access to legal and psychosocial support. There is an urgent need to address the acute psychosocial distress and mental health disorders young refugees and migrants face as a result of their harrowing journeys, separation from family and loved ones and pre-existing conditions. The Guidelines for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Contexts of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASCC) provide the guiding principles for UNICEF’s psychosocial support programme in Italy.  Here4U, is an online mental health and psychosocial support service for young refugees and migrants. It is integrated into UNICEF’s U-Report On The Move platform. The service shares reliable information about legal pathways and mental and psychosocial well-being. It also offers access to one-to-one remote support. Here4U was developed in response to the increasing number of  children and young people needing mental health and psychosocial support.   

Data situation 

Girls and women experience gender-based violence (GBV) before, during and after migration. Nearly two-thirds of women who migrated to Italy to seek safety and asylum reported having left their country of origin due to personal violence. Along the Central Mediterranean Sea route the risks of GBV are particularly high, especially for girls and young women travelling alone. At landing points in Italy, the ability to identify and provide referral for are often limited, which increases GBV risks among women and girls. Inside reception facilities, lack of security and privacy, over-crowded mixed-gender rooms, and poor access to critical services further expose women and girls to GBV risks and worsen the consequences. Once settled, gender, ethnicity and legal status in Italy can put women and girls at a continued of violence. Overall, refugee and migrant women and girls face multiple challenges in accessing GBV and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services.

Solution 

UNICEF works to respond, mitigate risk and prevent GBV among girls and women. This includes:

GBV Response. UNICEF provides critical GBV services for refugee and migrant women and girls including through strengthening and tailoring mental health and psycho-social support, Women and Girls Safe Spaces (WGSS), and SRH services, ensuring adequate cultural and linguistic mediation and the building caregivers’ capacity to provide support to children who have survived GBV. UNICEF’s programming ensures women and girls’ agency, participation, empowerment and security. 

GBV Risk Mitigation. UNICEF ensures GBV risk mitigation strategies and approaches are fully integrated in the reception system, both formal and community-based. This includes providing all relevant sectors and authorities with knowledge and tools for monitoring GBV risks and supporting women and girls’ safety and resilience. UNICEF provides information on GBV to encourage women and girls to seek help via in-person initiatives and the online platform U-Report on the Move. A key element of these activities is promoting and amplifying the voices of women and girls. UNICEF system strengthening approach includes building the capacity of frontline workers to ensure they can provide quality support to GBV survivors. In collaboration with IOM and UNHCR, UNICEF adapted and published a pocket guide for practitioners on how to provide initial psychological support to GBV survivors. 

GBV Prevention. UNICEF provides technical assistance to key ministries and authorities to integrate specific considerations on migrant and refugee GBV survivors within institutional laws, policies, regulations, plans and practices. UNICEF collects data and generates knowledge on key GBV issues affecting migrant and refugee women and girls to advocate for the advancement of their rights and lobby for policy change to support them. UNICEF delivers campaigns to promote positive social norms to supporting in preventing GBV.

Situation 

Adolescents on the move face a unique set of challenges that prevent them for accessing the same opportunities as their peers. Linguistic and cultural barriers, a lack of the recognition of qualifications and professional skills obtained in their countries of origin and a limited window of time to build knowledge and skills needed to access the job market​, are some of the main challenges for young migrants and refugees. These factors undermine their socio-economic inclusion and contribute to feelings of frustration, affecting self-motivation and self-esteem.  

Solution 

UNICEF supports skills development and empowerment, social and cultural inclusion, and active participation of migrant and refugee children and adolescents in processes affecting them.  

UNICEF has a number of programmes to support education and skills development. These include: 

Akelius. In collaboration with the Akelius Foundation, UNICEF has developed a language learning digital platform in-school and out-of-school through a blended learning approach. The programme provides content that can be used online on tablets, independently or in small groups. The platform supports students who have recently arrived in Italy to learn Italian, and supports Italian students to learn English. The content is accessible and inclusive of children with Special Educational Needs (BES), and increases all children levels of attendance, motivation and active participation, improving their learning outcomes and contributing to social inclusion. 

UPSHIFT. UNICEF helps adolescents and young people learn 21st century skills. By combining teacher training and support from young mentors from the private sector, universities, and business start-ups, adolescents work in teams to analyze social challenges and create innovative solutions with social impact. Through a learning-by-doing approach, UPSHIFT helps adolescents and young people develop key life skills and entrepreneurship skills useful for their education orientation and school-to-work transition. 

SKILLS4YOUTH. UNICEF supports basic skills building and job orientation for unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) and young migrants and refugees in reception facilities and catch-up schools across Italy. Through interactive workshops run by two mobile teams, the young participants have the chance to discover and reflect on their their skills, talents and professional desires. In group work, young people share their emotions, personal interests and job aspirations. The programme features the UNICEF Handbook for Job Orientation in nine languages, which includes information on documentation requirements for work, training courses, skills self-assessment, definition of professional goals, the rights of workers and the risks of irregular work. It also provides guidance on how to write a CV and prepare for a job interview. UNICEF is working to adapt and translate the workshop and handbook materials into e-learning modules for dissemination among UASC and their social workers, educators and cultural mediators. 

To support youth and adolescent participation: 

U-Report On The Move. U-Report is a user-friendly, cost-effective, anonymous social messaging tool designed to empower young people and offer them a platform to share their experiences. Young people registered on U-Report, known as U-Reporters, have access to information and a platform to share issues that affect them and their communities. This encourages citizen-led development and helps contribute to positive behaviour changes. In 2016, UNICEF in Italy launched U-Report On The Move, dedicating the platform entirely to young refugees and migrants living in Italy. The platform addresses the specific needs and aspirations of young migrants and refugees, either along their journey or where they currently live. It offers users a real opportunity to voice their concerns on their living conditions and become active citizens in the society they live in. They can also access information and support in areas of protection, education and legal.

The “OPS!" campaign: Your Opinion, beyond all Prejudice, against Stereotypes). UNICEF launched the OPS campaign in June 2021 to engage young people in countering unconscious racial prejudice and changing the narrative on migration. The acronym 'OPS!' stands for 'Your Opinion, Beyond Prejudice, Against Stereotypes'. Between September 2022 and March 2023, the campaign consisted of four actions: youth empowerment through a skills-building course for young activists through the OPS! Academy; training of teachers and students through the 'OPS!' web app; social communication by young people for young people; and advocacy with institutions, also pursued through youth participation bodies. 

The Activate Talks. UNICEF's Activate Talks are designed to give young change-makers a platform to share their experiences and ideas with decision-makers, civil society organizations and the private sector. The Activate Talks inspire young people to take action by highlighting good practices and actions to respond to community challenges and needs. Many themes have been addressed over the years, including civic engagement and social inclusion, stories of social innovation, antidotes to hate-speech and discrimination, women's empowerment, mental health.