Mapping Children on the Move within Africa Exposed to abuse (source: North Africa Migration Hub Data Focal Point in Italy. November 2016) Children can experience long-term trauma as a result of seeing a parent being abused. A Cameroonian mother, travelling towards Europe with her two children after her husband died, tells the story of how she used a smuggler to take her to Libya. Upon arrival in a house in Libya, five men raped her with her children watching. She was then dropped at night with her children on a beach. She had no documents. Whether children face human abuses or not depends on a number of factors. Children originating mainly from East, West, Central and Southern Africa are at higher risk – 83% reported exploitations compared to 56% from other regions. Racism is one of the main factors underlying different treatment.420 Levels of education also play a key role. Indeed, “adolescents with no education face higher risks on the CMR with 90% reporting exploitation compared to 75% of those with secondary education.”421 The length of the journey increases the exposure of children to risks of abuse. Among those travelling less than three months on the Central Mediterranean route; for instance, an adolescent from East, West, Central and Southern Africa with no education, travelling alone, faces the highest risk of exploitation – 89 per cent. If he or she travels in a group, the risk decreases substantially. Adding the further protective layer of secondary education, the risk goes down further, to 73 per cent.”422 Gender is another important factor. Girls are particularly at a high risk of discrimination, genderbased violence and sexual exploitation. According to IOM, ‘a number of reports suggest that refugee women and girls often experience violence at the hands of smugglers’.423 This however does not mean that male children are not vulnerable. They too are subject to exploitation including forced conscription, torture or sexual violence, especially in contexts of armed conflict.424 It is, however, not unimaginable that cases of abuse are underreported. Many victims do not come forward, as they fear their traffickers or do not want to be prosecuted for being coerced into committing crimes or being caught without papers. Human rights abuses have also reached a level where people are left to die. In June 2016, 34 migrants, including 20 children, were found dead near Arlit, Niger, by the Algerian border.425 5.8 Deprivation of liberty, arbitrary detention and forced deportation Among the many obstacles encountered by children on the move is detention. Particularly, undocumented children, as stated by Special Rapporteur on Human Rights of Migrants, they may 420 421 422 423 424 425 United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) & International Organization for Migration (IOM). 2017. Harrowing Journeys: Children and youth on the move across the Mediterranean Sea, at risk of trafficking and exploitation. New York: UNICEF. P8. UNICEF (n 416 above) P 8. UNICEF (n 416 above) P 4. UNICEF (n 416 above) P15. As above UNICEF (n 416 above) P24. 77