With the exception of the occasional scraped knee I consider my childhood a happy one. Sadly I know this is not the case for everyone. Alone, terrified and vulnerable is how young people arrive in the UK seeking safety.
It’s hard to imagine what they’ve been through; fleeing torture, death and persecution; forced to embark on a dangerous journey without the family support that every child needs.
Young People Seeking Safety
Young People Seeking Safety (YPSS) is a network of groups bringing attention to the issues faced by young people seeking safety; working to ensure they are cared for and their rights are protected. Their website provides insight into the experiences of young person seeking asylum in the UK.
Highlighting the issues
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Age assessment
Young people in Scotland are often desperate to look more grown up but imagine if looking older than you are could affect your rights.
Determining the age of an unaccompanied young asylum seeker is important as it effects how their asylum application is treated.
The age of young asylum seekers can be in questioned by the UKBA – and inaccurate age assessments subject children to denial of child protection services – and in some cases result in detention in an adult facility.
Shocking assessment procedures must be stopped
I am shocked by the latest age assessment procedure by UKBA to start X-raying children. This has been introduced despite widespread criticism from Lawyers, Children’s Commissioners, and medical practitioners.
Scottish Refugee council urges UKBA to stop these plans: “Exposing young people to the risks of radiation for non-therapeutic reasons is invasive and wrong. There is also real issue with the possibility of informed consent for these very vulnerable young people”
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Removal from the UK
The creation of European Return Platform for Unaccompanied Minors (ERPUM) by the UK Government is intended to facilitate the return of unaccompanied young people to their home countries.
In 2010 Nick Clegg said that the UK would have one of the most “most child-friendly” immigration systems – I don’t think either of these actions sit very comfortably with this claim.
