Like adults, children and young people are also fleeing wars and armed conflicts, lack of prospects and poverty, persecution and discrimination, as well as the effects of the climate crisis and environmental destruction in their countries of origin. 

Typical reasons for children to flee include recruitment as child soldiers or the threat of recruitment upon reaching adulthood, as well as gender-specific practices such as forced marriage, FGM (female genital mutilation), and forced prostitution. Furthermore, children and young people are affected by specific forms of human trafficking, enslavement, and exploitative child labor.

Dangerous, “illegal” escape routes are often the only paths left for children and their families when fleeing conflict and persecution. 

Safe and legal pathways for asylum seekers are scarce, and the few existing programs and regulations are being increasingly restricted worldwide. For example, the German Federal Government announced in its coalition agreement its intention to discontinue resettlement and admission programs and further restrict family reunification. 

Children and families often have no other option but to embark on dangerous journeys. When they arrive in Europe, they have the right to have their asylum application examined. This fundamental right, too, is increasingly being called into question.

The vast majority of children and young people seeking protection in Germany travel with one or both parents. However, in recent years, nearly one-fifth of all first-time asylum seekers under the age of 18 have been so-called unaccompanied minors: they begin their journey alone or are separated from their families during their flight. 

The reasons for fleeing without adults are varied and complex. A large proportion of unaccompanied minor refugees report having fled of their own accord – contrary to the common myth that "the young people are always sent by their parents." When parents support their children's flight, they by no means do so lightly: desperation and a lack of prospects lead them to accept their children's escape along dangerous routes. 

Reception programs specifically open to vulnerable children and young people could spare children the dangerous journey and their families the anxiety and the forced reliance on smugglers and traffickers.

To travel on a scheduled flight, children and young people need a visa. This is only granted within the framework of humanitarian admission (i.e., through admission programs or family reunification procedures). 

However, very few children in war zones and crisis areas have access to these safe escape routes: governments worldwide are increasingly restricting these legal access routes.

It is more often (but not exclusively) boys and young men who set out alone on the dangerous escape routes. 

Access for girls to escape routes and support systems is often severely restricted, and the same legal violations that cause girls and young women to flee – such as forced marriage, sexualized and domestic violence, and massive disenfranchisement – ​​simultaneously make it more difficult for them to leave. 

Reception programs specifically open to particularly vulnerable groups are therefore especially important: they ensure that those who are particularly threatened can escape.