BACKGROUND:
The right to seek asylum is a fundamental human right. Safe and legal pathways for displaced children seeking sanctuary in European countries (e.g. resettlement, family reunion) are largely inaccessible, driving many to take risky irregular routes to destination countries and apply for asylum on arrival. However, there is mounting evidence of systematic, state-led, illegal and violent pushbacks at European country borders. In this study, our aim was to understand the experiences of children subjected to pushbacks at European borders.

METHODS:
We analysed testimonies of pushbacks involving children published by the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN). We conducted quantitative descriptive data analysis and qualitative inductive thematic analysis of the testimonies.

RESULTS:
We extracted over 800 testimonies from the BVMN. The majority of testimonies described pushbacks at the European Union’s eastern borders, land borders in the Balkans and on the Eastern Mediterranean route. We identified the following themes within the testimonies: experience or witnessing of violence, denial or deprivation of basic needs, being treated as criminals, expressing feelings of being dehumanised or humiliated, the involvement of the state, arbitrariness of violence, impunity and lawlessness, theft and damage/destruction of possessions, conditions during push back, discrimination, racism and xenophobia, and asylum claims.

CONCLUSIONS:
The data show multiple human rights abuses towards children occurring at Europe’s southern and eastern borders. These will have both immediate and lasting health impacts for children, who are already facing multiple vulnerabilities.