Fighting Discrimination-Based Violence

Against Undocumented Children

THE PROJECT    

Rationale behind the project

Aims

Specific and Indirect Beneficiaries

Methodology

Partners and other actors involved

Main Activities

Expected result

Dissemination of the Results

In many countries in Europe, undocumented migrants are excluded from basic social services that help to meet a decent standard of living in the areas of health care, housing, and education. This is especially the case for children, who are vulnerable to exploitation and discrimination-based violence: undocumented children are in some countries refused access to schools; in other countries the foreigners’ police is using the educational system to detect undocumented migrants through their children; and undocumented children are increasingly being detained.

By mobilizing NGOs, professionals and policy makers working with undocumented children in different European countries, this project allows for an improved collection of field indicators on discrimination-based violence against undocumented children in Europe and a useful dissemination of information and exchange of existing good practices.

The project aims at fighting discrimination-based violence against undocumented children in Europe, by developing the capacity of concerned partners to protect undocumented children from discrimination in gaining access to housing, education and health care.

The project will focus on developing a network of NGOs, social workers and policy makers working on behalf of undocumented children, improving needs analyses and exchange of good practices in protecting undocumented children from discrimination-based violence, promoting children’s rights and rights of migrants among concerned professionals at the local, national and European levels.

The ultimate aim being to disseminate reporting tools, recommendations and ethical guidelines at European level, this project also allows for a structured exchange of good practices amongst local actors in Europe.

The direct beneficiaries of the project are undocumented children. Defining this vulnerable group of children without documents has proven to be complex, since these children may change life situations, being alternately documented and undocumented. However, what is common for these children is that the authorities might not be aware of their existence and that they might lack protection or be subject to several forms of exploitation or discrimination in the country where they are residing.

Target groups are the volunteers and professionals working on behalf of undocumented children, including staff of NGOs, health, education and social workers, local authorities, policy makers at both the national and European levels. There is a broad range of national, regional and local institutions responsible for the protection and care of unaccompanied children, including authorities and administrative bodies such as ministries, central reception facilities, aliens' offices, youth welfare offices, social care institutions and non-governmental organisations.

The project intends to strengthen networking at both the local and European levels. The aim is to promote the exchange of experiences amongst the institutions responsible for the social protection of unaccompanied children in different European countries. The organisation of workshops gathering relevant partners and target groups will improve multi-sector exchanges and will give a better overview of risks of discrimination-based violence confronting undocumented children in our societies.

In order to improve information collection and reporting indicators, it is important to work with local NGOs having a relation based on trust with undocumented children. The project will develop a bottom-up approach in terms of data collection and coordination with policy makers.

By applying the concept of best practices, PICUM hopes to present innovative practices from professionals, thus providing a much-needed link between field analysis and the policy decisions taken on behalf of undocumented children. 

Partners of the project are:  

• Save the Children Denmark (Denmark)
• Defence for Children International (Netherlands)
• Association Jeunes Errants (France)
• Andalucía Acoge (Spain)

During the research, field trips will be carried out in order to study local and regional specific aspects of protection of undocumented children against discrimination-based violence and other organisations will be identified as possible parties to be studied and involved in the project.

The countries that will be investigated are: Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the UK.

The following activities will be carried out in the three specific research fields of access to housing, health care and education for undocumented children:

·        Identification of a network of relevant actors and target groups including NGOs, professionals in the social sector, local authorities and representatives of reception facilities, working on behalf of undocumented children in the three working areas (health, education, housing) in relevant immigration countries in Europe including Belgium, France,  Hungary, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom;

·        Review and assessment of relevant studies and experiences on basic rights of and discrimination-based violence against undocumented children in Europe

·        Research and study on the legislative background related to access to housing, education and health care for undocumented children in the targeted countries through:

o       Theoretical research;

o       Field trips to visit partners’ activities and networks and to extend the research to other relevant immigration countries in Europe not covered by partners: Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom.

·        Organization of a two-day multi-sectoral workshop with all relevant partners during the first year of the project on:

o       identification of discrimination-related problems for undocumented children, as well as common factors at the local, national and European levels; 

o       analysis of specifics needs of undocumented children in terms of access to housing, health care and education;

o       development of data collection instruments and reporting indicators regarding discrimination-based violence against undocumented children at the local, national and European levels;

·        Producing and disseminating a first draft report on discrimination related cases, analysis of specific needs and reporting indicators regarding discrimination-based violence against undocumented children;

·        Organization of a second multi-sectoral workshop with all relevant partners during the second year of the projects on:

o       identification of good practices regarding the provision of protection to undocumented children subjected to discrimination-based violence in the fields of housing, education and health care in Europe;

o       facilitation of the exchange of good practices at European level through the diffusion of success stories;

o       development of recommendations and specific ethical guidelines for NGOs and professionals working with undocumented children in the fields of housing, education and health care;

o       helping local authorities and policy-makers to assess NGOs’ experiences: NGOs have developed a great deal of experience in best practice projects in most stages of the necessary response to undocumented children, which governments need to access in order to improve their response and avoid discrimination.

·        Producing and disseminating a second draft report on good practices and recommendations regarding discrimination-based violence against undocumented children;

·        Drafting a publication gathering needs analysis, good practices, reporting indicators, ethical guidelines and recommendations compiled under the first and second draft reports;

·        Organizing of a one-day final thematic workshop and a half-day conference in Brussels with all relevant partners in order to sensitize European networks and policy-makers to the specific rights of undocumented children and to present good practices, ethical guidelines and recommendations to the wider public.

The expected results of the projects are:

·        A network of NGOs, social, health and education workers, local authorities and reception facilities working on behalf of undocumented children is established.

·        The legislative background related to undocumented children in Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Malta, Poland, Hungary, the Netherlands and the UK is monitored.

·        A complete review and analysis of discrimination problems and specific needs of undocumented children in the targeted countries is carried out.

·        Reporting indicators and data collection methodologies regarding discrimination-based violence against undocumented children are developed.

·        Good practices regarding the protection of undocumented children are identified, shared among partners and disseminated to policy makers and to the wider public.

·        Policy recommendations and specific ethical guidelines are drafted and disseminated to NGOs, social, education, health workers and local authorities.

·        Rights of undocumented children, needs analysis, reporting indicators, good practices, recommendations and ethical guidelines are promoted.

Thematic press releases will be sent out at key stages of the project to local, national and European media, as well as through specialized mailing lists on migration and children’s rights. Moreover, the project’s director and researcher will attend related meetings and conferences in order to present the project’s objectives and to enlarge the target groups.

The reporting tools developed during the workshops, as well as examples of good practices, ethical guidelines for social workers and policy recommendations will be included in an approximately 120-page publication to be disseminated to all project partners, public authorities and NGOs involved in the protection of undocumented children.  PICUM will use its network of members in seventeen European countries, as well as the network of Eurocities, to target both field NGOs and local authorities involved with undocumented children.

A final conference will be organized in Brussels with all partners and with targeted European policy makers. PICUM will use its contacts and advocacy networks to reach the highest number of relevant people, including organizations and professionals of migration, health, education and children organizations, as well as representatives of European institutions dealing with the same issues. 

The project’s website will include all working documents to be produced during the project’s implementation as well as the final publication in pdf format. The website will be designed in an attractive format, presenting press releases, success stories and examples of good practices, as well as ethical guidelines and recommendations to prevent discrimination-based violence against undocumented children. A number of articles, presentations and migrants’ stories will be listed on the website.

A new category will be added to PICUM’s newsletter, grouping together news items concerning undocumented children.

Results of the project will also be used in PICUM’s advocacy strategy in terms of the protection of human rights of undocumented migrants, in particular in consultations and lobbying events providing recommendations to the European institutions.