A Guidebook on Transitional Issues for Refugee Youth
This toolkit is a compilation of legal information relevant for refugee youth. It is envisaged that the toolkit will provide comprehensive information to support the integration of refugee youth into our society and provide access to resources in addressing some of the transitional issues faced by new immigrants.
According to statistics from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, nearly 20 people from around the world are forcibly displaced every minute, as a result of conflict or persecution. Among them are nearly 22.5 million refugees and over half of whom are under the age of 18. Refugee youth and children are more vulnerable to sexual exploitation, gender-based violence, forced recruitment, and unlawful arrest and detention. Against this backdrop, we developed this legal education toolkit to directly benefit the refugee youth in accessing legal information.
This toolkit addresses two major needs of recent refugee youth. The first is addressing the social isolation that most newcomers face when they immigrate to a new country. The second is addressing the knowledge gap that they face in Canada due to the laws and regulations of Canada being different than that of the countries they are fleeing.
In terms of legal information, there are many areas of concern for refugee youth. We have selected a number of topics, based on the feedback we received from focus group discussions with recent refugee youth, and consultations with legal experts, social workers, and representatives from settlement agencies. Although it is not comprehensive, we have attempted to cover some of the most demanding areas of law relevant to the youth. Certain areas need further research and we anticipate updating the web-based toolkit with more information.
We have included a section on resources, where the users of this toolkit have access to relevant institutes and legal services, they can also obtain legal advice from lawyers as to the accuracy of the laws at the time of use. The toolkit is written in clear and simple language for better understanding. It will also be translated into Arabic, Tamil, and Urdu languages to ensure that the youth do not face language barriers when it comes to accessing the information.
