Executive Summary
All over the world, children are living lives with no clear future after being forced to flee their homes. Driven out by conflict, extreme poverty, droughts, food shortages, or political turmoil, they and their families live in refugee settlements, with host communities who themselves struggle to cope, in the shadows, in between laws and in the middle of chaos.
Children on the move experience violence in more extreme, more complex and potentially more damaging ways than those living in their home communities. The impact displacement and migration has on them, coupled with violence, leave children especially vulnerable. Their normal safeguards have been stripped away, placing them in situations of high risk, abuse or exploitation, and often spurring continuing cycles of fear and aggression.
But safety and protection for children who are on the move will be hard fought and won. Right now, very few policies around the world address the specific needs of children who are outside their home countries, or away from their communities, families, separated from parents.
Yet, these children still have hope that another future is possible, and we have faith that we can make that a reality.
Through this report and our global campaign 'It takes a world to end violence against children,' we want to contribute to finding solutions to ending violence against children on the move, even where none seem possible. We have drawn on our experience of working in several, difficult contexts, to see what works and what we can, with partners and donors, do more of and do better.
Join us. It takes a world to end violence against children on the move.
