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Taking a multi-disciplinary perspective, and one grounded in human rights, Unaccompanied young migrants explores in-depth the journeys migrant youths take through the UK legal and care systems.

Arriving with little agency, what becomes of these children as they grow and assume new roles and identities, only to risk losing legal protection as they reach eighteen?

Through international studies and crucially the voices of the young migrants themselves, the book examines the narratives they present and the frameworks of culture and legislation into which they are placed. It challenges existing policy and questions, from a social justice perspective, what the treatment of this group tells us about our systems and the cultural presuppositions on which they depend.

“The aspirations, experiences and trajectories of unaccompanied young migrants are at the core of this important edited collection which includes some of most knowledgeable experts in the field.” Nando Sigona, University of Birmingham

“This important and timely book provides a comprehensive analysis of current challenges related to forced migration, from the perspective of unaccompanied children and youths’ subordinated position, while also emphasising their resilience.” Anna Lundberg, Linköping university

Sue Clayton has directed two films on child asylum: Hamedullah: The Road Home (2013) and Calais Children: A Case to Answer (2017), both have been submitted in asylum and High Court appeal cases. She is Professor of Film at Goldsmiths University of London and consultant producer for ITV and Channel 4 News.

Anna Gupta is a Professor of Social Work at Royal Holloway, University of London. Anna has undertaken research and published articles on a range of subjects linked to child care and protection practice. Her particular interests include work in the family courts, poverty and social work, and practice with Black and minority ethnic children and families.

Katie Willis is Professor of Human Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London. Her research focuses on migration, gender and development, with particular interests in transnational families and the role of migration in reproducing or challenging social inequality.

Foreword ~ Lord Alf Dubs

Introduction ~ Sue Clayton, Anna Gupta and Katie Willis

Section 1: Framing the youth migration debate

Migration regimes and border controls: the crisis in Europe ~ Katie Willis and Sue Clayton

Dilemmas and conflicts in the legal system ~ Sheona York and Richard Warren

Caring for and about unaccompanied migrant youth ~ Anna Gupta

Section 2: Exploring migrant youth identities

Preface: Voices of separated migrant youth ~ Sue Clayton

Narrating the young migrant journey: themes of self-representation ~ Sue Clayton

From individual vulnerability to collective resistance: responding to the emotional impact of trauma on unaccompanied children seeking asylum ~ Gillian Hughes

Spaces of belonging and social care ~ Louise Drammeh

'Durable solutions’ when turning 18 ~ Lucy Williams

Section 3: International perspectives

A relational approach to unaccompanied minor migration, detention, and protection in Mexico and the US ~ Mario Bruzzone and Luis Enrique González-Araiza

Unaccompanied migrant youth in the Nordic countries ~ Hilde Lidén

Life (forever) on hold: unaccompanied asylum seeking minors in Australia ~ Kim Robinson and Sandra M. Gifford

Conclusion ~ Sue Clayton, Anna Gupta and Katie Willis

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