Paraguayan Children Left Behind: Access to Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Parental Emigration

Abstract

This article addresses a population affected by emigration that has not previously been studied in Paraguay: children and adolescents with at least one parent who has emigrated internationally. Using a design with both descriptive and explanatory components, and based on secondary statistical sources, the study estimates the magnitude, characteristics, and access to economic, social, and cultural rights for this segment of children and adolescents. In 2016, nearly 109,000 children and adolescents in Paraguay (5.4% of the total) had at least one parent who had emigrated internationally. This population is mostly composed of individuals over 10 years old and has a slight male predominance. Although one might expect worse access to rights among children and adolescents with migrant parents, the findings suggest the opposite trend. In most of the 12 selected indicators, children and adolescents with migrant parents tend to be in a better situation than their peers without migrant parents, although most of these differences are not statistically significant. The study’s findings contribute to the analytical and policy discussion on migration and childhood, based on robust evidence.