RADAR Full Research Report Running Away: Drivers, Awareness, and Responses With financial support from the “Rights, Equality and Citizenship 2014-2020” Programme of the European Union. This publication reflects the views only of the authors. The European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. ©2021 Missing Children Europe Aagje Ieven, Secretary General at Missing Children Europe, Belgium Eugenia Yumi Miyashita, Project Officer at Missing Children Europe, Belgium Dr. Fabienne Glowacz, Professor and Clinical Psychologist at the University of Liège, Belgium Margot Goblet, Researcher and Clinical Psychologist at the University of Liège, Belgium Helen Mason, Director of Operations at Child Helpline International, Netherlands Averill Daly, Data and Research Officer at Child Helpline International, Netherlands Stefanos Alevizos, Researcher and Psychologist at The Smile of the Child, Greece Ioanna Gigka, Researcher and Psychologist at The Smile of the Child, Greece Niels Van Paemel, Policy Advisor and Educational Scientist at Child Focus, Belgium Paula Paçó, Cooperation Officer at Instituto de Apoio à Criança, Portugal Maria João Cosme, Clinical Psychologist at Instituto de Apoio à Criança, Portugal Sandra Paiva Vasconcelos, Social Educator at Instituto de Apoio à Criança, Portugal Hugo Pereira, Psyco-pedagogue at Instituto de Apoio à Criança, Portugal Agata Kalinowska, Psychologist at ITAKA, Poland Dr. Cath Larkins, Sociologist at Cath Larkins Louise Bonneau, European EU Advocacy Officer at Hope and Homes for Children Warren Larkin, Director, Clinical Psychologist and Visiting Professor at Warren Larkin Associates Ltd & University of Sunderland, United Kingdom Stefania Buoni, President, Communications and Project Manager at NGO “COMIP Children of Mentally Ill Parents”, Italy Nicholas Morgan, Director and Youth Involvement Lead at Euro Youth Mental Health, United Kingdom Mycah Tequeron, Youth Training Expert and Drama Therapist at Euro Youth Mental Health, United Kingdom Maria Antonietta Giglio, Programme Officer at StreetInvest, United Kingdom Maryna Lypovetska, Head of Projects at NGO “Magnolia, Ukraine Pauline Lefur, Psychologist at 116 000 Enfants Disparus, France With special thanks to all the stakeholders who were willing to share their experiences, practices, and tools. Disclaimer: The information presented is not exhaustive and does not represent the full scope of data, statements, and best practices of all countries and participants. All rights reserved. Any reproduction or presentation of this publication can only take place if the relevant copyright is respected. 2 Executive summary .................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Runaway children, a vulnerable group under the radar .......................................................................................................... 8 The RADAR project: Drivers, Awareness and Responses ............................................................................................................ 8 Key findings ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 9 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................................11 1.1 Research background............................................................................................................................................................................. 11 1.2 Literature review ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 11 1.3 Drivers and risk factors ............................................................................................................................................................................ 11 1.4 Intervention strategies for runaway children ................................................................................................................... 12 1.5 Need for the research ............................................................................................................................................................................ 13 1.6 References ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 15 2 RADAR (Running Away: Drivers, Awareness, and Responses) ..............................................................17 2.1 Background and objectives ............................................................................................................................................................. 17 2.2 Research work package ...................................................................................................................................................................... 17 2.3 Focus of this report ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 18 3 Missing Children Europe Quantitative Data report Runaways reported to the 116000- hotline network in 2019 .....................................................................................................................................................19 3.1 Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 19 3.2 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 21 3.2.1 Research objectives ...................................................................................................................................................................... 21 3.2.2 Methodology ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 22 3.2.3 Data Collection ................................................................................................................................................................................. 22 3.2.4 COVID-19 challenges and other limitations to the data collection ......................................... 22 3.3 Findings ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 23 3.3.1 Demographics of runaway children ........................................................................................................................... 23 3.3.2 Gender breakdown ..................................................................................................................................................................... 25 3.3.3 Runaway caseload in 2019 ................................................................................................................................................ 25 3.3.4 How missing children were found ................................................................................................................................. 28 3.3.5 Runaway prevention cases ................................................................................................................................................... 29 3.3.6 New and ongoing support for runaway cases ............................................................................................. 30 3 3.3.7 Locations children ran away from ................................................................................................................................ 31 3.3.8 Length of runaway cases ........................................................................................................................................................ 32 3.3.9 Frequency of runaway cases .............................................................................................................................................. 33 3.3.10 Causes for running away........................................................................................................................................................ 34 3.3.11 Problems at home .......................................................................................................................................................................... 35 3.3.12 Problems at school ........................................................................................................................................................................ 36 3.3.13 Problems at care homes (children’s homes) ....................................................................................................... 36 3.3.14 Violence ....................................................................................................................................................................................................