Number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children more than doubles

Date: 12th October 2020
Category: Refugee , migrant and asylum-seeking children

---

The number of unaccompanied children seeking refugee protection in Scotland more than doubled between 2018 and 2019, figures from the Scottish Guardianship Service show. Last year the service helped 165 children, up from 81 who arrived in 2018.

Almost half of the young people (45%) currently supported by the Scottish Guardianship Service have been trafficked and exploited in industries such as cannabis cultivation, nail bars and sexual exploitation. These stark figures highlight the importance of services such as the Scottish Guardianship Service who have recently celebrated its tenth anniversary. Scottish Guardianship Service offer to support unaccompanied children who may have been through unimaginable traumas, language, culture, and bureaucratic challenges.

• Read more here.
• Discover more about the Scottish Guardianship Service here.
• Watch Scottish Guardianship Service’s video launched on its tenth anniversary here.