The Impact of Irregular Migration on Boys, Girls, and Adolescents in Communities of Origin

Magda Medina

Context
Global economic crisis Climate change Violence

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Consequences
Increased human mobility internal and external movements. Migration of parents, leaving girls, boys, and adolescents unattended and not cared for by their parents. Migration of boys, girls, and adolescents, who become more vulnerable.
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Origin, Transit, and Destination

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Origin
Girls, boys, and adolescents abandoning their home and community to complement the family income in times of crisis; Abandoning the home to save on home expenses; Absent for several days or weeks; Internal migration; External migration.

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Transit
Children and adolescents from other countries traveling through Guatemala on their way to Mexico; Boys, girls, and adolescents from Guatemala traveling through the country on their way to the Mexican border.

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Destination
Children and adolescents with other nationality arriving in Guatemala intending to voluntarily stay in the country temporarily or permanently; Boys, girls, and adolescents arriving in Guatemala under false pretenses or having been forced: Trafficking in Persons; Internal migration, from rural to urban areas.

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Living in the country of destinatio n

Family reunification (country of destinatio n)

Children and Adolesce nts

Extended stay in the receiving country

Labor migration (internal)

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Questions
Migration and Development
1. Migration stimulates development 2. Migration hinders development

None of the above mentioned perspectives consider the new vulnerabilities and the material and psycho-social costs for migrants and their families and communities of origin.
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A Multi-Dimensional Approach
Migration & Economy
Mitigating poverty Income allocation Investment Human capital Mitigating poverty Income allocation Investment Human capital

Social Development

Education, health Empowerment of women Education, health Empowerment of women

Children and Adolescents

Psycho-social aspects Family dynamics Psycho-social aspects Family dynamics

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Migration and Economy: Remittances

Remittances and Poverty Reduction Help reduce the depth and severity of poverty but do not eradicate poverty Context of the current economic crisis Remittances, Resource Allocation, and Inequality Create inequalities among homes receiving remittances and those that do not receive any remittances Remittances and Investment Consumption and investment
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Social Development
Migration as an alternative insurance mechanism An increase in the spheres of education and health Empowerment of women
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Children and Adolescents

Family migration Emotional implications Risk behavior Family disintegration New family structures

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UNICEF-IOM Study
Within the framework on the Survey on Remittances 2009 - IOM, UNICEF established an agreement to include a module about the impact on children and adolescents in families with migrants due to the world economy crisis.

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Variables Explored through the Survey

Amount and quality of food intake Acute and chronic malnutrition Absenteeism and dropping out of school Health Child labor Migration The trend to enter couple relationships at an early age Domestic violence and mistreatment Remittances and family consumption Effects of the crisis and strategies implemented Institutional networks for social protection

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Assumptions Prior to the Survey

Families develop strategies to adjust their needs according to the availability of resources.
Reducing access to services (health, education, and protection) for boys, girls, adolescents, and pregnant women and reducing the amount or quality of food intake.

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Assumptions Prior to the Survey

The need to generate income or reduce expenses promotes a family behavior system that uses mechanisms such as:
Temporary or permanent removal of boys and girls from school Increasing child labor and risk of commercial sexual exploitation Internal or external migration Entering couple relationships at an early age (adolescents and young adults)
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The Economic Crisis: Income through Remittances

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Remittances as a Percentage of the GDP

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THE IMPACT OF THE ECONOMIC CRISIS ON THE SITUATION OF GIRLS, BOYS, AND ADOLESCENTS

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Breastfeeding and Alternative Feeding: Babies Under 7 Months of Age

Atole 19.7% Other 7.3% Cows Milk and/or Goats Milk 13.6%

Powdered Milk 59.5%

BREASTFEEDING BABIES UNDER 7 MONTHS OF AGE

YES NO
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72.5% 27.5%

Children Under 2 Years of Age Who are Fed through Breastfeeding, together with other Food
BOYS, 24.4 %

GIRLS, 29.2%

Children under 2 years of age who are fed through breastfeeding, together with other food

YES NO
(only food)

53.5% 46.5%

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Reducing the Amount of Meals and Deterioration of the Quality of Food

Families in all municipalities have reduced the amount and/or quality of food intake. Reducing the amount of meals. Basic food group: reducing the intake of red meat, poultry, and dairy absent, in most cases. Scarce knowledge about nutrition alternatives or ways to prepare food to potentiate the use of wild foods and herbs in season. In border municipalities linked through commercial corridors, consumption of food smuggled into the country (contraband).
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Reducing the Amount of Meals and Deterioration of the Quality of Food

Stopped Eating Dairy 2.3% Stopped Eating Meat 29.9% Went on a Diet 1.6%

Other 28.7%

Reduced Meals from Three To Two 4.6%

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Ate Less Food at each Meal 32.9%

Under 17-year-olds who changed their eating habits

YES NO

3.2% 96.8%

EDUCATION OF GIRLS, BOYS, AND ADOLESCENTS

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Education of Boys and Girls 7-17 Years of Age Who are Beneficiaries of Remittances, 2009
Not in School
1,200,000 1,000,000 800,000 600,000 400,000 200,000 0

In School
524,180 (42.0%)

Dropped out
550,773 (44.2%)

172,095 (13.8%)

1,074,953 (86.2%)

108,514 (8.7%)

89,368 (7.2%)

82,727 (6.6%)

Total

Girls

54,178 (4.3%)

Boys
TOTAL GIRLS BOYS 1,247,048 (100.0%) 613,548 (49.2%) 633,500 (50.8%)

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54,336 (4.4%)

WORKING DURING CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE

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Increasing Internal Migration Associated to Child Labor

Migration of boys and girls 12 - 14 years of age: destination, main cities in the municipality or region, within or outside the municipality of origin. Girls and Adolescents: household workers, salesgirls in small businesses and food stands. Boys and Adolescents: low-income service provision such as helping masons, shining shoes, selling various products on the street. Child labor follows a historical trend of agricultural labor and household work. Seasonal work to harvest sugar cane and coffee; harvesting fruits in season in some municipalities.
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Child Labor (Under 17 Years of Age) by Primary Occupation

OTHER OCCUPATIONS SERVICE PROVIDERS AND SALESPERSONS

6.1%

UNQUALIFIED WORKERS

30.3%

17.9%
OPERATORS AND WORKERS IN INDUSTRIAL ARTS AND OTHERS

AGRICULTURE AND FISHING INDUSTRY

27.3%
TOTAL POPULATION, 7 - 17 YEARS OF AGE 1,247,048 EMPLOYED GIRLS EMPLOYED BOYS

18.4%
31,045 (33.4%) 61,860 (66.6%)

TOTAL NUMBER OF EMPLOYED 92,905 (7.4%) 7 17-YEAR-OLDS

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ENTERING COUPLE RELATIONSHIPS DURING ADOLESCENCE

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The Trend to Enter a Couple Relationship at 10-17 Years of Age

Total Male Female

25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

YEAR %

2004 3.4

2005 3.4

2006 1.7

2007 1.7

2008 2.1

2009 1.3

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MIGRATION DURING CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE

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Populations Under 17 years of Age Living Abroad, by Gender and Age

45,000 40,000

40,381 27,557 6,352 21,205

16 17

Total

Girls

Boys

Boys and Girls

35,000 30,000 20,000 15,000 10,000

18,398 6,016 12,382

25,000

667 505 2,654 558

1,756

1,172

2,096

5,000 -

10

970 786

11

12

933 933 0

13

5,959 1,449 4,510

14 Age

15

Cause of Emigration Total population under 17 years old living abroad Economic improvement To find employment Family reunification Building a home

Under-Age 98,810 39,539 38,455 10,588 2,956 2,046 5,226

% 100.0 40.0 38.9 10.7 3.0 2.1 5.3

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6,884

33,497

Populations Under 17 Years of Age Intending to Travel within the Following 12 Months, by Country of Destination and Gender
Total
20,000 18,000 16,000 14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 -

Girls

Boys

9,655 8,761

18,416

1,152 963 189

387 387 0

United States (1.5%)

Mexico El Salvador Canada (0.0%) (0.0%) (0.1%)

Spain (0.0%)

Other (0.1%)

Population Under 17 Years of Age TOTAL 1,247,048

Population Under 17 Years of Age Intending to Travel 21,643

% of Population Under 17 Years of Age Intending to Travel 1.7

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Girls

613,548 633,500

11,672 9,971

994 667 327

0.9 0.8

394 0 394

300 0 300

Returned Populations Under 17 of Age, by Country and Gender

Total
6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000

Girls

Boys

5,155

895

2,000

4,260

5,140

378

3,170

1,970

3,005

0 United States (0.4%) Mexico (0.4%) El Salvador (0.0%) Canada (0.0%) Others (0.2%)

TOTAL Returned under 17-year-old Cause of Return Financial crisis Deportation Others

1,000

1,256

1,749
1,247,048 13,888 1298 584 12006

189

210

210

189

100.00% 1.1 0.1 0.0 1.0

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Direct Effects of the Crisis

Debt Reduction in monetary income Higher costs, especially of food Reduced consumption and reduced quality Reduction of general expenses (clothes, shoes, services) Deterioration of health care A higher impact on large and extremely poor families, widows, single mothers; alcoholism among heads of families
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Strategies Used by Families

Engaging children in temporary or permanent child labor; Investing less money on food and education for boys, girls, and adolescents; Sending children away with adults to work in agriculture outside their region and their country; Overloading boys, girls, and adolescents with domestic chores and with taking care of other children; Sending children to school without breakfast and without any money for a snack at school; Moving boys, girls, and adolescents into the care of uncles and aunts, grandparents, or other close relatives.
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Recommendations
To implement efforts to strengthen the capabilities of families to make good use of remittances, particularly in times of crisis. To support municipal governments in changing investment priorities and developing specific municipal plans to address the crisis. To increase the coverage of conditioned monetary transfers. To strengthen social protection for children, adolescents, and women by reallocating resources to support these population groups.

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To promote and exchange regional and Iberoamerican strategies based on a human rights approach and in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including actions to promote the participation of boys, girls, and adolescents in all matters pertaining to them, against violence, mistreatment, abuse, teenage pregnancies, commercial sexual exploitation, child labor, trafficking in persons, and migrant smuggling.

Paragraph from the X Iberoamerican Conference of Ministers and Responsible Authorities for Children and Youth, San Salvador, June 19, 2008.

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All the rights in all places, for all persons

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

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