Without a Trace : The construction of “asylum-seeking children vanishing from official registration” in daily news discourse in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the UK

• This paper aims to deconstruct the narratives of asylum seeking children who go missing from official registrations in daily newspapers from Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the UK during 2000 until the midst of 2008. The sample of newspapers consists of four large national newspapers, according to the number of daily circulation figures, from each of the four countries, from which a total of 276 articles concerning occurrences of “vanishing asylum seeking children” has been detracted. The study finds that during the time period from 2000 until 2008 such instances become framed rather differently in the Scandinavian countries compared to the UK. During the period from 2000 until 2005 such narratives, in the British context, became framed as possible indicators of organized trafficking of (mainly) African children through the British asylum system. In the Norwegian and Swedish newspaper articles similar incidences, during the 2000 until 2005, was understood as cases of "missing vulnerable children" or "absconders" per see. In the Danish newspapers comparable episodes was not framed as constituting a coherent social problem. During the end of 2005 until 2008 the three Scandinavian countries came to understand episodes of missing asylum-seeking children quite parallel and as constituting proof of asylum-seeking and unaccompanied children being trafficked. In Britain the trafficking focus was still dominant, but an understanding of missing asylum-seeking children as a case of a "missing child", also became prominent during 2005 until midst of 2008.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Internationell migration och etniska relationer (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- International Migration and Ethnic Relations (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Genusstudier (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Gender Studies (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Övrig annan samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified (hsv//eng)

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