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This project carried out research and a comparative study in 5 European countries (Spain, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Denmark) of the situation of immigrant children and adolescents, most of whom undertake the process of migration without adults and for whom networks of social support are totally lacking or very weak in the host country. This group consists basically of children and adolescents, legally minors, coming mainly from countries outside the European Community where there is armed conflict, exacerbated by serious socio-economic problems, and/or countries with authoritarian political regimes. All these countries are characterised by serious instability. These children and adolescents living in European countries are particularly fragile and vulnerable, many of them being exposed to serious violence and at great risk. Through a study of the situation in each country, with knowledge of national and international policies and the measures applied in each case, a multi-disciplinary network of specialists can be built up, their work having a beneficial effect, both directly and indirectly, on the groups concerned. Thus, both educators and professionals working with immigrant minors will become natural channels of propagation. Their work in education or as professionals dealing with these groups will contribute to informing about and raising social awareness of the importance of preventing violence against these minors. The project's digital platform enables members to work in a cooperative, virtual, decentralised environment. It constitutes not only an invaluable tool in the work process but is also a means of propagating information about research. Work carried out in this stage led to the production
of a Comparative Study and a Code of Good Practice, whose purpose is
to draw up a list of the policies and skills needed to prevent violence
and promote support for these children and adolescents and their social
integration. Origins and preparation of the project The origins of the project date back to the late 1980's and early 1990's, when the first signs of a migratory pattern were detected by various European institutions. Up to then cross-border migration was mainly by adults but at that time unaccompanied minors began to arrive in Europe, children and adolescents travelling without any adult who was responsible for them. The migration of minors had taken place at other times in European history but this was the first time that a protective view was taken; it was recognised that such minors needed to be protected and looked after by governments. The gradual growth of the phenomenon led to growing concern in a number of host countries. In Catalonia (Spain) social workers have seen how the group they traditionally dealt with has changed progressively with the arrival of minors who have undertaken the process of migration alone. In 2000, the year in which the Daphne Programme was applied for, knowledge of the phenomenon in Catalonia was at a very early stage and there was a lack of accurate information. All that was known was that the group consisted mainly of males, children and adolescents, many coming from North Africa (Morocco and Algeria), who had moved to Spain hoping to legalise their situation and find work so as to help their families economically. The authorities dealing with this group in Spain became aware, above all, that these minors rejected most of the assistance offered to them, that their demands were very different from those of Spanish minors and that they became violent and engaged in criminal activities. The feeling of being overwhelmed and having no definite purpose was very noticeable. One widely held view was that the explanation for their attitudes lay in their high degree of mobility. For many of them Spain was a country of transition, on the way to other European countries where there were better opportunities. It was also thought that most of the minors came from dysfunctional families and even that a high percentage were street children in their own countries, although this was not the view of professionals working with them. While the authorities were unable to cope with the situation, social workers generally felt disoriented and frustrated. The peculiarities of this group were largely unknown, the support offered to them bore little relationship to their own demands and there were difficulties in the areas of language and cultural patterns. Because of these and other factors, the social and educational work done with them had disappointing results. Against this background the Pere Tarrés Foundation - Ramón Llull University initiated a series of meetings with professionals from different disciplines, all of whom worked with unaccompanied immigrant minors. Their recommendations made it possible for us to establish some basic practical knowledge about the subject which, together with the theoretical experience of the professionals in the coordinating body and the research papers produced, justified the drawing up, development and planning of this project. To counteract the feeling of frustration caused by a
lack of knowledge about this new phenomenon in Catalonia, hoping to
increase the scope of its approach to the problem by involving other
European countries, the Pere Tarrés Foundation - Ramón
Llull University took advantage of the opportunity given by the Daphne
Programme of the European Union (prevention of violence against children,
young people and women), and presented a project entitled CONRED:
a virtual community aimed at preventing violence against immigrant children
and adolescents who have no social support network. Aims
Methodology The process has been directed and coordinated by a team from the Pere Tarrés Foundation - Ramón Llull University. Throughout the first stage they have been responsible for supervising and electronically processing reports from members. Two meetings were also held in Barcelona, one at the beginning and the other at the end of the process:
Final versions of documents, the Comparative Study and the Code of Good Practice, were drawn up by the Barcelona team from data and information provided by each member country. The following methods and techniques were used:
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