‘Asexual, Apolitical Beings’: The Interpretation of Children's Identities and Experiences in the UK Asylum System

Abstract

This article explores the experiences of separated asylum-seeking children and considers the implications of dominant understandings of ‘childhood’ for the ways in which the children's experiences of persecution and violence are interpreted in the UK asylum system. Although there is a widely held consensus among academics that the boundaries of ‘childhood’ are socially constructed—and that this is reflected in differences in what it means to be a ‘child’ over time and across space—this understanding is largely absent from the policies and practices that constitute the asylum determination process. Children who claim asylum are constructed as passive, vulnerable, dependent, asexual and apolitical victims (usually at the hands of adults) who should be allowed to stay on a discretionary basis until they turn 18 but who are not considered deserving of, or entitled to, protection under international law. Where children assert their agency and insist that their political and sexual experiences are taken into account, this may undermine their claims to be children at all. This article draws on the accounts of separated children seeking asylum in the UK to suggest that a more nuanced and contextualised understanding of the political, social and cultural contexts from which children originate is needed to ensure that children are granted the protection they need and deserve.

Keywords:

• Asylum
• Childhood
• Politics
• Sex
• UK

Acknowledgements

The research which forms the basis of the analysis in this paper was funded by The Nuffield Foundation, whose support is gratefully acknowledged. I would like to express my deep appreciation for the knowledge, time and insights provided by Dr Susan Rowlands, formerly General Secretary of ILPA, and the very many organisations and individuals who participated in the project. The comments of two anonymous JEMS reviewers were extremely helpful and should be acknowledged. Lastly, but most importantly, particular thanks are due to the children who participated in the research. Although they cannot be named, the testimony and insights provided by them challenged my own understanding of the nature of children's political engagement in ways that go well beyond the scope of this article.

Notes

1. The term ‘separated children’ is used in most countries to describe those children who are outside their country of origin and separated from their parents or their legal or customary carer. In some cases children arrive on their own; in others they may accompanied by an adult who is not their parent or legal/customary carer.

2. In 2007 there were nearly 2,000 age-disputed cases (Home Office 2008). This means that 35 per cent of all asylum-seekers who arrive claiming to be children are age-disputed and treated as adults. Disputes over age have very significant implications both for the way in which an individual's asylum application is dealt with and for that individual's ability to access services and support (including housing, education and welfare) and to be protected from abuse by others.

3. The findings of this research were published by the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA) in a report entitled When is a Child Not a Child? Asylum, Age Disputes and The Process of Age Assessment (Crawley 2007). The report was launched at the Houses of Parliament in 2007 and resulted in the establishment of a Home Office working group to explore ways in which current procedures for age assessment might be improved. The full report can be downloaded at http://www.ilpa.org.uk/publications/ILPA%20Age%20Dispute%20Report.pdf

4. The recent decrease in the number of asylum applications made by separated children is thought to reflect increasingly restrictive pre-entry and border controls—which have made entry into the UK more difficult for all asylum-seekers—and an increase in the number of children whose stated age is disputed and who are therefore treated as adults.

5. Asylum-seekers who are recognised as needing protection under international law are granted refugee status and given permission to stay (leave to remain). Until 30 August 2005, those with refugee status were granted indefinite leave to remain but policy changes have since reduced this to an initial period of five years. Those who are not recognised as refugees under international law may be given discretionary leave to remain in the UK. The length of time that someone is allowed to stay will vary depending on their circumstances but it is unlikely to be more than three years initially. At the end of this period an individual is expected to return to his or her country of origin.

6. The names of the children who participated in the research have been change to protect their identity.