We are happy to share the latest report issued by the Balkans Migration and Displacement Hub, an initiative working within Save the Children North West Balkans CO – “Wherever we go, someone does us harm: Violence against refugee and migrant children arriving in Europe through the Balkans”.
The research that we have based the report on was carried out in partnership with the University of Sarajevo and their Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies, with the participation of the research team from the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade. It is an in-depth, qualitative research on a challenging, under-researched topic – violence against children on the move. We looked into the level and types of violence children experience while attempting to reach Western Europe via the Balkan route, the circumstances of that violence, and the policies and practices that exist to support children. The research was made possible by the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (https://www.svri.org).
Children interviewed as part of the research reported:
1. Facing all types of violence (physical, psychological, sexual) and exploitation along the route.
2. Children were always at risk of violence during their journey.
3. All children reported directly experiencing or witnessing physical violence by border police officers. More than 1 in 3 interviewed children described violence at the hands of smugglers and their fear of them. Two-thirds listed one or more incidents where they recognised or witnessed sexual abuse of a child in their immediate environment. Every child interviewed described experiencing psychological violence by being threatened, blackmailed, humiliated or insulted by smugglers, police officers and members of the local population. Every child who participated in this study mentioned children working on the route; most shared their own experiences, and they all described experiences of other children such as their friends, brothers or sisters, or other experiences of child labour that they had heard about or seen.
4. Boys reported experiencing more physical violence, especially in attempts to cross borders. Women and girls are mostly exposed to humiliation and verbal abuse at the borders. Both boys and girls face the risk of sexual abuse and exploitation, with unaccompanied children being particularly vulnerable.
Research also showed that:
5. Children who experience or witness brutal violence and live in utter uncertainty learn not to trust others early on. They rarely report violence and/or seek support.
6. Children travelling in families are better protected from violence.
7. Children on the move see official services (e.g., healthcare institutions, schools, public child protection services, and centres for social work) as either disinterested or a threat.
8. Families, peers and locals can be sources of help and emotional support.
9. Children cope with violence by normalising it, denying it or suppressing it.
10. Children need holistic support, including trauma treatment, to overcome the long-term consequences of abuse.
In case you have questions or comments, please reach out. We would be happy to organise presentations of the report, as well as share experiences on the research process. We would also be happy to use advocacy opportunities to share children’s voices.
Poštovane koleginice i kolege,
Srećni smo što možemo sav ama da podelimo najnoviji izveštaj Balkanskog centra za migracije i raseljavanje, inicijative koja radi u okviru Save the Children za severozapadni Balkan – „Gde god da idemo, čine nam zlo: Nasilje nad decom izbeglicama i migrantima koja stižu u Evropu preko Balkana”.
Istraživanje na kojem smo bazirali izveštaj sprovedeno je u partnerstvu sa Univerzitetom u Sarajevu i njihovim Centrom za interdisciplinarne studije, uz učešće istraživačkog tima sa Fakulteta političkih nauka u Beogradu. To je dubinsko, kvalitativno istraživanje o izazovnoj, nedovoljno istraženoj temi – nasilju nad decom u pokretu. Razmotrili smo nivo i vrste nasilja koje deca doživljavaju dok pokušavaju da stignu do zapadne Evrope balkanskom rutom, okolnosti tog nasilja i politike i prakse koje postoje za podršku deci. Istraživanje je omogućila Inicijativa za istraživanje seksualnog nasilja (https://www.svri.org).
Na osnovu iskaza dece intervjuisane u okviru istraživanja, došli smo do sledećih nalaza:
1. Deca se suočavaju sa svim vrstama nasilja (fizičkim, psihičkim, seksualnim) i eksploatacijom na ruti.
2. Deca su uvek u opasnosti od nasilja tokom svog putovanja.
3. Sva deca su prijavila da su direktno doživela ili prisustvovala fizičkom nasilju od strane službenika granične policije. Više od 1 od 3 intervjuisane dece opisuje nasilje od strane krijumčara i svoj strah od njih. Dve trećine su navele jedan ili više incidenata u kojima su prepoznali ili bili svedoci seksualnog zlostavljanja deteta u svom neposrednom okruženju. Svako intervjuisano dete je opisalo da doživljava psihičko nasilje tako što su mu/njoj krijumčari, policajci i pripadnici lokalnog stanovništva pretili, ucenjivali, ponižavali ili vređali. Svako dete koje je učestvovalo u ovoj studiji pominje decu koja rade na ruti; većina je podelila svoja iskustva, i svi su opisali iskustva druge dece, kao što su njihovi prijatelji, braća ili sestre, ili druga iskustva dečijeg rada za koja su čuli ili videli.
4. Dečaci su prijavili da su doživeli više fizičkog nasilja, posebno u pokušajima prelaska granice. Žene i devojčice su uglavnom izložene ponižavanju i verbalnom zlostavljanju na granicama. I dečaci i devojčice su suočeni sa rizikom od seksualnog zlostavljanja i eksploatacije, pri čemu su deca bez pratnje posebno ranjiva.
Istraživanje je takođe pokazalo da:
5. Deca koja doživljavaju ili svedoče brutalno nasilje i žive u potpunoj neizvesnosti rano uče da ne veruju drugima. Retko prijavljuju nasilje i/ili traže podršku.
6. Deca koja putuju u porodicama bolje su zaštićena od nasilja.
7. Deca u pokretu smatraju da su zvannične službe i institucije (npr. zdravstvene ustanove, škole, javne službe za zaštitu dece i centri za socijalni rad) nezainteresovane ili čak predstavljaju pretnju.
8. Porodice, vršnjaci i lokalno stanovništvo mogu biti izvori pomoći i emocionalne podrške.
9. Deca se nose sa nasiljem tako što ga normalizuju, negiraju ili potiskuju.
10. Deci je potrebna sveobuhvatna podrška, uključujući podršku baziranu na znanjima o traumi, da bi prevazišla dugoročne posledice zlostavljanja.
U slučaju da imate pitanja ili komentara, molimo vas da nam se obratite. Rado ćemo organizovati prezentacije izveštaja, kao i razmenu iskustava o procesu istraživanja. Takođe bismo rado iskoristili mogućnosti da zagovaramo i podelimo glasove dece koja su nam poklonila poverenje tokom ovog istraživanja.