Refugee Family Reunion

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Unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors arrive in the UK after a perilous and traumatic journey from their home country. Many young people become separated from their families either as a result of being forced to flee their country of origin or during their journey to a safe place. Children and young people become unaccompanied, separated from their families and are forced to leave their country of origin for a number of reasons, including fear or experience of persecution, torture, imprisonment, violence, human rights violations, war and conflict, trafficking and extreme economic hardship.

The experiences and adversities unaccompanied minors face increase the risk for psychological distress and the development of mental health difficulties, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Experiencing traumatic separation from key attachment figures, such as parents and siblings, can contribute to further loss, distress and mental health problems among unaccompanied minors. The majority of young people we have met with have significant concerns about their families which is a great source of distress for them and a risk factor for further mental health difficulties. 

Settling into a new country without any family support is significantly more challenging, and we know from the research evidence that supportive family networks and the presence of key attachment figures improve the mental health outcomes and can protect against the development of more severe problems among refugee children and young people. We are also concerned that separated children are often required to take on roles above and beyond that which would typically be expected of a child’s developmental level, adding to the stressors they experience while settling in to a new and unfamiliar country. These worries and stressors can increase a young person’s current sense of threat, which can form a barrier to providing the psychological interventions recommended for the treatment of mental health difficulties in young refugees.

For these reasons we, as clinical psychologists, support the Refugee Family Reunion Bill. It is our professional opinion that this Bill is in the best interests of refugee children and young people, and the ability to sponsor family members to join them in the UK would support the emotional wellbeing of children and young people. In our opinion, this may also lead to a reduced need for social care intervention, as the young people would be supported by their families.