Accounting for Children’s Agency and Resilience in Independent Child Migration in Southeast Asia

Abstract

In Southeast Asia, the so-called phenomenon of independent child migration has received growing scholarly attention in the last decade or so. A common element of this body of literature is the questioning of the stereotypical adult-centred representation of children who migrate alone for work as passive victims of trafficking. Whilst not ignoring or downplaying that migrating children are especially vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, a number of scholars have emphasized that if we listen to these children’s voices, an alternative discourse and approach can be proposed. Refusing unidimensional interpretations of what is in fact a complex issue, this work has unveiled several conceptual shortcomings in the conflation of child trafficking and independent child migration. In so doing, increasing emphasis has been placed on the notions of children’s agency, capacities and “childhood as a social construction”. Though only at a nascent state, research has also focused on the often neglected perspective of children’s resilience. Based on a comprehensive literature review, this chapter shows that by looking at independent child migration through these lenses, adolescent migration for work can often be a constructive aspiration of young people’s search for the full realization of their rights and a better life.