One-third of 100,000 refugee and migrant children arrived in Europe unaccompanied in 2016
Over 100,000 refugee and migrant children, of whom more than 33,800 unaccompanied and separated children (34 per cent), arrived in Europe in 2016. The vast majority of them entered Europe irregularly through the two main gateways to the continent: Italy, using the Central Mediterranean sea route, or Greece, transiting through the Eastern Mediterranean route from Turkey, mostly via sea.
REACH, in partnership with UNICEF, conducted an assessment between December and May 2017 to provide key missing information on the profiles and experiences of children who arrived in Italy and Greece in 2016 and 2017, why they left home, the risks children encountered on their journey and their life once in Europe.
METHODOLOGY
In Italy, a total of 720 unaccompanied and separated children were interviewed in 72 reception facilities in Sicily and outside reception facilities in the key transit sites of Rome, Milan, Ventimiglia and Como.
In Greece, a consolidated secondary data analysis was carried out, supplemented by primary data collection, including Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with 40 parents and 30 service providers, as well as 17 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with a total of 130 children, of whom 70 unaccompanied and separated children.
