Safeguarding Children from Abroad: Refugee, Asylum Seeking and Trafficked Children in the UK

Citation

O'Higgins, A. (2015), "Safeguarding Children from Abroad: Refugee, Asylum Seeking and Trafficked Children in the UK", International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 71-72. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMHSC-09-2014-0039

This edited volume brings together a number of academics and practitioners, concerned about the welfare of separated hildren in the UK, and focuses specifically on safeguarding. It is an original and welcome addition to the existing literature about separated children and one of the few to address this specific, yet critical, area of work.

The various chapters draw our attention to specific areas of concern on the subject of safeguarding, highlighting in some cases the field's gaps in knowledge about the prevalence, risks and threats to separated children. The authors cover issues on the care of separated children, including identification, age assessments, safe accommodation, private fostering, mental health and listening to children. Chapters are also devoted to the legality of and concerns about returning separated children to their countries of origin and the role of guardians. In this way, the book achieves its aims and provides a comprehensive overview of the complex issues separated children and young people face and crucially, how they can be identified, supported and cared for. It is an excellent tool and reference for practitioners including support and social workers, foster carers, housing providers, teachers, advocates, lawyers and health professionals in the field, who work directly or indirectly with these young people, and whether or not their primary role is in a safeguarding team.

The book begins with a thought-provoking chapter (Introduction), calling on practitioners to focus their attention on all separated children. This requires moving away from the unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) label, which excludes a number of separated children also of concern: trafficked children, undocumented children, children from European countries and other migrant children. This distinction between different categories of migrant children is reflected in much practice, with most organisations and charities targeting refugee children, and in some cases excluding those who have not claimed asylum. Limited categorisations are also problematic because they reinforce bureaucratic labels which do not reflect the complex realities of many separated children. Our attention is also drawn to calls from children and young people who explain that they do not construct their identity around their immigration status. The book ends with a chapter mirroring the introduction on the importance of listening to separated children. It advocates promoting participation, including that of separated children in decisions about their lives and crucially, recognising their agency as well as attending to their vulnerability. Resilience of refugee young people is often overlooked in studies on separated children, because many practitioners and researchers are still advocating for greater recognition of and rights for separated children. This tension, between vulnerability and resilience and agency, is apparent throughout this book and weaved into a number of chapters; it thus provides the reader with a variety of perspectives on the complex nature of some of the theoretical debates in this field.

The book covers much ground without overburdening the reader with complex legislation and policy which changes too often to remain relevant for very long. It is easy to read and accessible to a variety of practitioners. A number of key areas of practice remain absent, however, including education and physical health, particularly sexual health. Though it is impossible to ever cover every angle, both these sectors have an important role to play in mediating the risks and vulnerabilities of separated children, particularly trafficked children. Some separated children have also been missed out, such as the Roma, who have cultural and health needs specific to their ethnic group. Finally, despite the attempts of authors to consider the safeguarding needs of all separated children, the book remains focused on refugee and trafficked children. Practitioners have been able to access information about refugee children more easily in the last ten years as more research has become available, but many remain perplexed about the rights, entitlements and welfare needs of those on the margins: visa overstayers, undocumented children, Roma and European migrants from accession countries. In so doing, however, the book highlights where more research and tools are urgently needed for practitioners in this field.

There is currently a dearth of research which provides a strong evidence base for social interventions with separated children. In this volume, the authors acknowledge this and try to fill in the gaps or expand on what we know. This book does highlight the fact that safeguarding separated children is a challenging task because of the lack of research evidence, the complex legislative framework, the limited access to many separated children and the practical and legal barriers to appropriately support them.

This book makes an important contribution to the research on separated children. Given the lack of training and resources available to the many practitioners who work in this field, as well as the challenges for many of them to keep abreast of policy changes, the book is an important tool which will serve professionals well. It has the potential to play a key role in raising awareness of the challenges of working with separated children, to improve safeguarding processes and to become an important advocacy tool for professionals supporting and advising separated children.