(03 February 2016) – For the first time since the start of the refugee and migrant crisis in Europe, there are more children and women on the move than adult males, says UNICEF.
Children and women now make up nearly 60 percent of refugees and migrants crossing the border from Greece to Gevgelijia in the Republic of Macedonia.
Children currently account for 36 percent of those risking the treacherous sea crossing between Greece and Turkey. This figure could be higher however as many children do not declare their age until they have reached their destination.
Since June of 2015, when men made up 73 percent of the migration flow, there has been a major spike in the numbers of children and women on the move – accompanied children accounted for one in ten in June 2015 and now account for more than a third of all refugees and migrants.
Although the exact number of unaccompanied and separated children on the move is not known, 35,400 sought asylum in Sweden, mostly young Afghans, while Germany has more than 60,000 unaccompanied adolescents primarily from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.