Child immigration in the Portuguese press: outlining the phenomenon

Abstract

Although immigration is and old phenomenon, in western societies it has becoming a social problem, giving rise to economical, social and cultural issues. This is particularly true with regard to the displacement of children, especially when not accompanied by adults. Media representations of children immigrants are most commonly related with risk, may it be in terms of security, poverty, sexual or labor exploitation. These images are thought to have a negative impact on public opinion, contributing to generate a negative social attitude towards these people and thus hindering their full inclusion in host societies. Bearing in mind the framework of children rights, this paper intends to explore when, how and why children immigrants are news topic, taking into account their provision, protection and participation rights and the different domains of their lives – health, education, housing, economic status, family, behavior and social inclusion, among others. This study will bring together different approaches to the study of the corpus (linguistics, psychology and media studies). Starting by drawing an extensive overview based on the quantitative data gathered during the calendar year 2008, it will enrich this analysis by looking thoroughly at paradigmatic news articles on child immigration in Portugal.