Professor Consults on Research to Aid Migrant Children.

Emily Rothman, associate professor of community health sciences, recently provided support on a child migration study for Kids in Need of Defense (KIND).

The qualitative study in Tapachula, Mexico, will focus on the experiences and needs of children who migrate alone, often experiencing sexual violence and other abuse.

Rothman is applying her expertise in sexual violence victimization and adolescent trauma as a volunteer on the study’s advisory committee, reviewing a research protocol and interview guide. The interviews will gather experiences of abuse and sexual violence, as well as other migration experiences, from children and adolescents ages 12 to 17.

“It’s refreshing for me to focus on this slightly new topic,” Rothman says, “I am glad to be able to apply some of what I’ve learned to a project outside of the US.”

Tapachula, near the border with Guatemala, is the temporary home of some of the young Central American migrants who have been detained trying to reach the US, or who are being sent back to their countries of origin.

That process requires more information and support, says Rothman.

Beyond the dangers of traveling alone, former child migrants face stigma from the assumption they have been sexually abused while migrating. They can have trouble finding jobs, getting married, and otherwise reintegrating.

KIND was founded by Angelina Jolie and Microsoft Organization President Brad Smith. It provides pro bono legal services to unaccompanied children from Central America, and works with local organizations to support child migrants who are returned to Guatemala from the US.

—Michelle Samuels