Listen
The
guardian facilitates the child’s participation in all matters concerning the
child and ensures the child is heard and that the child’s views are taken into
account in accordance with the age and maturity of the child. To do so, the
guardian speaks to the child and listens genuinely to the child’s
recounts.
An unaccompanied child is typically asked by many
different state officials and service providers to provide information and to
recount their experiences. For a child – as for any person – it can be
difficult and stressful to be asked again and again to tell their story,
especially where the story contains unpleasant, sad or violent elements. In
fact, for children who have experienced acts of violence or exploitation,
having to recount these acts repeatedly can create obstacles for the child’s
process of recovery and rehabilitation and contribute to re-victimisation.
The questions the child has to respond to are often
determined by the needs for information of the different state agencies and
service providers who hear the child. The narration that emerges from these
interviews and hearings might remain strongly fragmented and limited only to
certain elements that do not represent the child’s story and perspectives in a
holistic way. The guardian may be one of few persons who has a more complete
understanding of the child’s story, especially where the guardian has succeeded
in establishing a trusted relation with the child and accompanies the child to
all the relevant hearings, interviews and meetings with service providers that
feed into the case assessment process. Where a guardian speaks to the child
about these meetings, hearings and interviews and how the child feels about
them, and reviews together with the child the decisions that emerge from these
processes, the guardian gains important insights into the child’s views and may
be able to understand where important elements of the child’s story have not
been heard by the competent state authorities or service providers.
The guardian has a responsibility to handle the
child’s information in a sensible way, in accordance with the applicable rules
on confidentiality, while also respecting relevant reporting obligations where
the child is at risk or in danger, including due to risks or acts of violence
against a child.
See
also:
Level 1: Right to be heard,
participation
References:
EU training and learning platform for guardians of
unaccompanied children
Chapter 2: Guardianship in the best interests of the child
Literature:
Council of the Baltic Sea States (2019), Listen Up!
Creating conditions for children to speak and
be heard, Professional communication with children at risk of exploitation and
trafficking – Experience and lessons learned from the Baltic Sea Region, PROTECT Children on the Move Project,
Stockholm.
Council of Europe, Committee of Ministers
(2019), Effective guardianship for unaccompanied and separated children in the context of migration, Recommendation
CM/Rec(2019)11 of the Committee of Ministers, 11 December 2019.
Council of Europe (2018), How to Convey Child-friendly information to children in migration, A handbook
for frontline professionals, Building a
Europe for and with Children, Strasbourg.
Council of Europe (2021), Listen – Act – Change
, Council of Europe Handbook on children’s
participation for professionals working for and with children,
Strasbourg.
Defence for Children – ECPAT The Netherlands
(2011), Core standards for guardians of separated children in Europe, Goals for guardians and
authorities, Leiden. Reference text for handout: 10 Core
Standards for Children.
FRA (European Agency for Fundamental Rights)
(2014), Guardianship for children deprived of parental care, A handbook to reinforce guardianship systems to
cater for the specific needs of child victims of trafficking, Luxembourg, Publications
Office of the European Union (Publications Office).
KMOP, Defence for Children International – Italy (2015), Resiland,Participation, capacities and resilience of children on the move against trafficking and exploitation, Orientations for officials and professionals
working with and for children on the move, Athens.
Mitchels,
B. (2004), Let’s Talk
,
Developing effective communication with child victims of abuse and human
trafficking, Practical handbook for
social workers, police and other professionals, UNMIK, Government of Kosovo,
Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Pristina.
United Nations (UN), Committee on the Rights of the
Child (2005), General Comment No. 6 (2005), Treatment of
unaccompanied and separated children outside their country of origin,
CRC/GC/2005, 1 September 2005.
United Nations
(UN), Committee on the Rights of the Child (2009), General Comment No. 12
(2009) on the right of the child to be heard, CRC/C/GC/12, 20 July 2009.