Household and family risk and protective factors

Household and family factors of vulnerability are related to the circumstances of households, the role and position of individuals within the family, and family histories and experiences. Families are important in determining vulnerabilities as they are typically the first option for individuals who require support, particularly for children and youth.

Examples of household and family factors include family size, household structure, socioeconomic status, migration histories, employment, livelihoods, education levels, discrimination based on gender, and family dynamics.

Households and families can offer both risk factors for violence, exploitation and abuse, and also protective factors against the same. Risk factors can include violence between family members, households headed by a child or a single parent, or a history of unsafe migration behaviours. Protective factors can include the presence of a supportive environment within the home, equitable distribution of resources and opportunities for boys and girls, and sufficient earnings to meet both basic needs and the main aspirations of all family members.

One of the first steps in assisting vulnerable migrants is to make an assessment. The IOM household/family assessment form aims to identify household- and family-level risk and protective factors and overall vulnerability to violence, exploitation, and abuse in a migration context. This form is meant for use by practitioners and service providers with specialized training and experience interacting with vulnerable populations, for the purpose of identifying, referring, protecting and assisting those in need of such support.

To Go Further
Household- and family-level responses

At the household or family level, a holistic response requires understanding the composition of the household, and relationships between the individuals within the household. It addresses any household or family factors that contributed to the vulnerability of the migrant or migrants.

Appropriate responses may include family tracing and assessment, best interest assessments and determinations for child migrants, alternative care arrangements for unaccompanied child migrants, responses to gender-based violence within the family, family reunification services, family counselling, livelihood- and income-generation, and education.

Household- and family-level interventions may require shorter- or longer-term approaches, depending on the particular risk factors being addressed.

Policy Approaches
Promoting a family-centred approach

A family-centred approach is one that focuses on the family unit and is concerned with engaging and preserving the family wherever possible.

  • Work with the family unit to ensure the safety and well-being of all family members;
  • Strengthen the capacity of families to find and implement solutions;
  • Engage with family members and empower them to participate in all decision-making;
  • Build relationships on a foundation of trust, respect, honesty and open communication;
  • Provide individualized, responsive, flexible and relevant services for each family;
  • Link families with community-based networks of supports and services.
Policy Approaches
Birth registration of non-Thai children in Thailand

In Thailand, a clinic in a local hospital supports the effective birth registration of non-Thai children. The clinic offers support even for children not born in the hospital. Cases are referred to the clinic by crisis centres and emergency shelters for women and children. Through this clinic, 98 per cent of the children born at the hospital were registered at birth. Without birth registration, children may be vulnerable to exploitation and abuses and denied education and health. Having status is important, and the legal clinic mitigates against statelessness in a cost-effective and inexpensive manner

Source

IOM, 2017a.

Lessons learned from experience in the field with vulnerable migrants

While implementing an assistance plan, case managers should take into consideration, among other aspects, the following:

  • The emotional and psychological situation of a migrant. Vulnerable migrants usually have larger emotional difficulties and are more unstable. They may require a longer accompaniment process.
  • The personal predisposition of the migrant and their desire to make life changes.
  • The support, interest and disposition of the migrant’s family. Counting on a family’s support could make a big difference in the success of the assistance.
  • In cases of reintegration, trying to guarantee not only economic reintegration but also social reintegration. Without the interest and commitment of the beneficiaries, there are no possibilities for personal development and empowerment.
Family tracing and reunification

One of the aspects included in household assistance is family tracing.

Family separation in migration can be unintentional or deliberate. Unintentional separation is not planned or anticipated, whereas deliberate separation occurs when families make a conscious decision to separate. A deliberate separation may be initially intentional with an expectation of reunifying in the future, but these separations can go on longer than planned.

Everyone has the right to know what happened to missing relatives, to communicate with members of their family, to stay united with their family members and to be reunited if they are separated. The primary responsibility for ensuring that these rights are respected lies with the State and, in situations of conflict, any organized armed group.

Reunifying families can have positive psychosocial impacts for all family members. As well, it can improve the overall health and wellbeing, and feelings of safety and security, of separated family members, as well as reducing vulnerability factors.

Policy Approaches
Family tracing and reunification for vulnerable migrants
  • Ensure that all family-tracing procedures undergo a risk-assessment and risk-mitigation process.
  • Include vulnerable migrants in the selection of the most appropriate family-tracing method.
  • Provide family-tracing support to vulnerable migrants even if they don’t want to be registered with local authorities for fear of deportation.
  • Coordinate family-tracing efforts with relevant local authorities (where applicable) and organizations in countries where separated family members are known or thought to be, as appropriate.
  • Establish mechanisms to exchange information on missing persons.
  • Provide psychological support to the family and their members before and during the reunification, as deliberate or unintentional separation may have caused further harm to vulnerable migrants. Family members may even be deceased, and the family will need to be informed.
  • Provide support to obtain travel documents, including passports and necessary visas, and any other documentation required for travel.
  • Offer support to make travel arrangement, such as the provision of travel escorts who are able to support vulnerable migrants.
  • Provide financial support (such as loans or grants) to family to cover the costs associated with family reunification, when available.
  • Ensure that families that have been reunified stay together. This can be done through registering all family members with relevant authorities; registering all births, adoptions, and deaths within the family; providing shelter and accommodation for entire families; ensuring livelihoods are sufficient for the family size; ensuring children have the opportunity to attend school; and ensuring all family members have access to health care in their communities.
Some methods of tracing family members
  • Filing reports of missing persons with law enforcement agencies.
  • Registering on family-tracing websites.
  • Notifying embassies or consulates of missing family members.
  • Posting photos and names of separated family members on notice boards in public places.
  • Broadcasting names of separated family members on radio or television.
  • Distributing leaflets with photos and names of separated family members.
  • Sending messages or messengers to the last known address of separated family members.
  • Searching records of hospitals, border crossings, police, detention facilities, schools, or other institutions and service providers for names or identifying information of family members.
  • Utilizing social media platforms to search for family members or to post messages soliciting information on separated family members.
Key messages
  • Household and family risk and protective factors are related to the family circumstances of individuals and their family members, the role and position of individuals within the family, and family histories and experiences.
  • Household- and family-level interventions may require shorter- or longer-term approaches, depending on the particular risk factors being addressed.
  • Household assistance includes family tracing and family reunification.
  • Reunifying families can have positive psychosocial impacts for all family members as well as improving their overall health and wellbeing.
  • Family reunification, when it involves movement between countries, requires considerable coordination and communication between the relevant authorities and the vulnerable migrant.
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