In the past ten years, 103,842 unaccompanied foreign minors have come to Italy via the dangerous sea route. According to a report published on Wednesday, an average of 15,000 children and young people arrive in Italy every year.
“Despite the fact that unaccompanied minors are regularly present in our country, the legal state first reception centers have never been set up in Italy,” complained the child protection network Save the Children, which published the report.
Almost all minors have been received in reception centers in Sicily and Calabria since 2021 and are not spread all over the country.
risk of sexual exploitation
The report outlines the different routes followed by foreign minors after disembarkation and examines the conditions of initial reception. The additional risks to which girls are exposed must also be taken into account. On December 31, 2022, there were almost 3,000 underage girls in the shelters alone. They are at particular risk of sexual exploitation.
Reception system required for unaccompanied minors
“The report demonstrates the need to set up a reception system for unaccompanied minors, structured throughout the national territory and capable of ensuring that minors arriving in Italy without parents can quickly find shelter and safety,” said Raffaela Milano, director of Italy-Europe programs of ‘Save the children’.
“It is therefore necessary to set up at least one reception center in each region, a network coordinated at national level with common quality and management standards and a coverage of 2,000 places,” Milano stressed. “Save the Children” is committed to the inclusion of minors in families.
Source: Krone
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