How to Convey Child-Friendly Information to Children in Migration: A Handbook for Front line Professionals

Lack of accurate information dis-empowers refugees and migrants. Without trustworthy sources of accurate information, refugees and migrants experience additional stress and anxiety; they feel lost and have no understanding of what is happening or what will happen to them. Lack of accessible information also puts states in competition with smugglers and other criminal networks on communicating about migration pathways. The problem is even more serious when it comes to refugee and migrant children, especially if they are unaccompanied or separated from their families. To provide information to children is more than handing them a brochure on rights and procedures, it is talking to them in a way that they understand, depending on their age, gender and culture, building a relationship of trust and helping them make sense of what they are facing when they arrive in Europe.