Voluntary or forced decision to leave
The
circumstances of the child’s departure and the correlated risks and
opportunities are usually very individual and differ for each girl and boy.
Professionals and officials working with and for children on the move need to
understand how the decision to leave has been made and to which degree it has
been influenced by poverty, insecurity, social dynamics, family matters or
other factors at the micro and macro level. Understanding to which degree the
child’s departure was conceived as a coping strategy to mitigate risks is
important for a number of processes in the place of arrival. The context of the
decision making process is relevant for care planning and protection, for the
development of a life project for the child, for the determination of the
child’s best interests and the identification of a durable solution, including
the possibility of safe and sustainable return.
Orientations
for professionals working with unaccompanied children:
- Seek the dialogue with
the child about her or his ‘migration project’ and the underlying risk factors,
aspirations and motivations that led to the child’s departure. Take the
circumstances of the child’s departure into consideration for care planning,
best interests determination and the identification of a durable solution.
- Engage the child in a
conversation about decisions that are important for the child. Invite the child
to express their views about the own role in decision making processes. Support
the child to express their personal views in decision making processes and
discuss with the child ways and means to gain confidence and agency in decision
making, for instance learning how to assess the reliability of information from
different sources, how to estimate risks and opportunities and how to reach a
conclusion about the own best interests.
Literature:
Family and Childcare Centre
(KMOP), Defence for Children International –
Italy (2015), ‘Decision to leave’, in: Resiland
, Participation,
capacities and resilience of children on the move against trafficking and
exploitation, Orientations for professionals and officials working with and for
children on the move, Athens, pp. 17-19.