IKEA Good Cause Campaign (Children on the Move) Baseline Study Report

This study attempted to identify the existing situation of children vulnerable to the risks of unsafe migration, the existing status of child rights – especially protection, education and playing rights at both source and destination areas as well as the status of Community Based Child Protection mechanism in the project locations. The study used a mixed-method (both quantitative and qualitative methods for primary data collection) which was triangulated at each level of data collection and analysis to ensure validity and reliability of data. This cross-sectional study ensured that the relevant actors for the children-parents, caregivers and duty bearers were represented and interviewed. A structured questionnaires survey was conducted to collect quantitative data and key informant interview (KII), Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools were used to collect qualitative data. The study collected primary data from sources (sites in Satkhira and Rajshahi) and one destination (sites in Dhaka) to capture multi-causal variables related to unsafe migration. The study identified 300 households vulnerable to the threat of unsafe migration at sources. Among these 300 households, 20 households had experienced at least one child migration. In addition, 125 children were surveyed at the destination. In total, 145 children (20 at the sources and 125 at the destination) were identified for this study as ‘children on the move’. The study followed a methodology to ensure a one to one boy-girl ratio during the survey. The study found that children basically migrate in search of livelihood and the percentage of boys travelling alone was higher than the percentage of girls.  However, the level of awareness on risks of migration was found consistently poor. The study suggested building greater awareness of the support services, safety net and protection mechanism among the households vulnerable to the risks of unsafe migration. At the same time, the quality of education also needs to be improved. Moreover, there is a need to create more opportunities for children to play in open spaces. Through programmatic interventions, caregivers and community members can be motivated to change the norms and beliefs of the society so they do not differentiate between boys and girls in terms of accessing play facilities. Awareness campaigns are necessary to make them understand the impact of play and sport on child development.