Unaccompanied and separated foreign minors in Italy: between vulnerabilities of the system and agency pathways


Menores extranjeros no acompañados y separados en Italia: vulnerabilidades del sistema y recorridos de agencia


https://doi.org/10.21670/ref.2420156

Authors

Keywords:

unaccompanied migrant minors, international migration, intersectionality, community work

Abstract

In Italy, the presence of unaccompanied and separated migrant minors continues to be a target group for social care with specific characteristics and needs that are not always adequately addressed, especially when they reach the legal age of majority. Political restrictions make it difficult to achieve an adequate level of autonomy and significantly compromise social inclusion, increasing the risk of turning them into mere executors of an unwanted project in which they are excluded as actors in their own future. The results of an analysis of the state of the art and the fieldwork carried out through the saama project in Agrigento (Sicily), during the years 2019-2022, are presented. The objective is, from an intersectional approach, to rethink the tools implemented in reception services to build new social management options through simultaneous and convergent attention between the meso perspective and the micro perspective.

Resumen

En Italia, la presencia de menores migrantes no acompañados y separados sigue siendo un grupo destinatario de atención social con características y necesidades específicas a las que no siempre se consigue dar respuestas adecuadas, especialmente cuando alcanzan la mayoría de edad. Las restricciones políticas dificultan la consecución de un nivel adecuado de autonomía y comprometen notablemente la inclusión social, incrementando el riesgo de convertirse en meros ejecutores de un proyecto no deseado en el que se les excluye como actores de su propio futuro. Se presentan los resultados de un análisis del estado de la cuestión y del trabajo de campo realizado a través del proyecto saama en Agrigento (Sicilia), durante los años 2019-2022. El objetivo es, desde un enfoque interseccional, repensar las herramientas implementadas en los servicios de acogida para construir nuevas opciones de gestión social mediante una atención simultánea y convergente entre la perspectiva meso y la perspectiva micro.

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2024-12-03

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Author Biographies

Gabriella Argento

Italian. PhD in Migration Studies by the Interuniversity Program of the Universidad de Jaén-Granada-Pablo de Olavide, Spain. Part-time lecturer in social work at the Department of Culture and Society at the Università degli Studi di Palermo, Italy. Research lines: unaccompanied minors and second generations: reception practices and integration experiences; narrative orientation among inclusion practices of unaccompanied foreign minors, in particular in the transition to adulthood; qualitative survey on poverty in social work. Recent publication: Translated with DeepL.com (free version) Gucciardo, G. & Argento, G. (2023). Social capital. En M. T. Gijón Sánchez & M. B. Morata García de la Puerta (Coords.), Glossary on good practices in the field of social work and human mobility (pp. 81-83). Global-Answer Network “Social Work and Human Mobility”.

Belén Blázquez Vilaplana

Spanish. PhD in political science and administration from the Universidad de Granada, Spain. Professor of Political Science and Administration at the Universidad de Jaén, Spain. Vice-Dean of Quality and Planning at the Faculty of Social Work, Universidad de Jaén, Spain. Research lines: gender equality public policies; gender violence; migrations. Recent publication: Argento, G. & Blázquez Vilaplana, B. (2024). Menores migrantes no acompañados en Italia o cómo analizar la situación de los menores extranjeros no acompañados en Italia. En V. Cabedo Mallol & I. Ravetllat Ballesté (Coords.), Los derechos de la infancia y la adolescencia en contextos migratorios (pp. 387-438). Tirant lo Blanch.

Belén Agrela-Romero

Spanish. PhD in anthropology and social welfare from the Universidad de Granada. Lecturer in social work. Local coordinator of the PhD Program in Migration Studies at the Universidad de Granada-Universidad de Jaén-Universidad Pablo de Olavide. Research lines: migrations, gender, social work, social policies. Recent publication: Cuadra Durán, C. & Agrela Romero, B. (2024). Cuidar(nos) en comunidad: mujeres (in)migradas, resistencias y sostenimientos en colectivo. Athenea Digital, 24(2), Artículo e3475.

Roberta Teresa Di Rosa

Italian. PhD in sociology from the Università di Pisa. Professor at the Department of Culture and Society at the Università degli Studi di Palermo, Italy.  Research lines: intercultural competences in the helping professions for a transcultural social service; mediation, social work for democratic coexistence and participatory development projects; digital social work. Recent publication: Di Rosa, R. T. (2024). Relational challenges for social workers with unaccompanied migrant minors. En R. T. Di Rosa & G. Tumminelli (Eds.), Empowering migrant inclusion (UNIPA Springer Series). Springer.