IN OCTOBER 2016, a row broke out over the age of asylum seekers entering the UK from France, with politicians and media commentators questioning why people admitted to the country as children seemed to look much older. Last week, press reports appeared to confirm those doubts: 鈥淗undreds posing as child refugees shown to be adults,鈥� ran one headline.
Such certainty might lead you to believe it is possible to work out precisely how old a person is 鈥� or at least to biologically tell the difference between an adult and a child. It isn鈥檛.
鈥淣one of the age assessment methods is fit for purpose,鈥� says at the University of Loughborough, UK. 鈥淭hey were never designed to give a person鈥檚 chronological age. There is no counter in the body that ticks up or down with age.鈥�
Advertisement
The headlines derive from a report for the UK鈥檚 Home Office, which states that between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2017, there were 2952 unescorted children who claimed asylum in the UK. Of the 705 cases in which the Home Office disputed the person鈥檚 age, 618 were resolved, with 65 per cent judged to have been over 18.
鈥淯K officials estimate the age of refugees merely from their appearance and demeanour鈥�
Such decisions can determine the fate of those seeking asylum. The on the Rights of the Child states that refugees under the age of 18 must be provided protection and assistance by governments to enjoy their rights of identity, justice and education, among other things. Adults, meanwhile, may be detained or deported.
But making age assessments isn鈥檛 straightforward. In the UK, such judgements by the Home Office involve merely looking at someone, and estimating their age based on their appearance and demeanour. Many European countries use dental tests, bone X-rays and assessments of sexual maturity.
The Home Office declined to answer specific questions about how assessors make these decisions, but pointed to that recommend staff look at a person鈥檚 height, build, voice and facial features such as 鈥渟kin lines鈥� when estimating their age. Their mannerisms, eye contact and body language may also give away their age, says the document.
This isn鈥檛 far from arguing that many asylum seekers can鈥檛 possibly be children given their crow鈥檚 feet and grey hairs, and is on shaky scientific ground. 鈥淗eight isn鈥檛 a particularly great measure,鈥� says Tim Cole at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health in London. 鈥淕irls reach their final height around the age of 16, and boys at 18, but there鈥檚 an enormous amount of variability.鈥�
The same could be said of a teenager鈥檚 build and voice. The age at which a child reaches puberty can vary based on their ethnic background, genetics and experiences, says Judith Dennis of UK charity Refugee Council, who was consulted on the latest Home Office report.
鈥淲e get children that have lived in different climates, or might have health problems,鈥� she says. 鈥淚n a class of 14-year-olds, some will look like children, others will look much older.鈥�
The traumatic events often experienced by children seeking asylum can affect not only the way they look, but their rate of biological ageing. Many will have witnessed war, famine and death. Some may have been directly involved in conflict, while others might be victims of sexual abuse.
Studies of US veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have found that individuals who develop post-traumatic stress disorder , for example. Other studies have found that . And . All of this can make children look older than they are.
Dental tests
The latest version of the Home Office guidance on age assessments does at least warn that a person鈥檚 ethnicity and experiences might influence their appearance. 鈥淭he guidance is better than it was,鈥� says Kamena Dorling, who runs the . 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 fundamentally problematic to judge people as adults just by looking at them.鈥�
There are also problems with other types of test. As of last year, , but not in the UK.
These work on the assumption that a person鈥檚 teeth mature at a typical rate. The third molars 鈥� or wisdom teeth 鈥� tend to reach their final stage of development after the age of 18, but they don鈥檛 always.
That means the tests aren鈥檛 foolproof, says Cole, and the error rates may depend on ethnicity. Dental tests will misclassify 10 per cent of European teenagers, but no one has looked at the error rates in people from Syria or Afghanistan, for example, he says. In tests of 15 to 20-year-olds of any ethnicity, 鈥渁round a third of assessments will give the wrong answer鈥�, estimates Cole.
The tests have been , but that hasn鈥檛 stopped .
Bone X-rays of the wrist are even more popular across Europe, being used by at least 24 countries to assess asylum-seeking children. These scans look at the finger, hand and wrist bones of young people and compare them to standard images of bone development to estimate their age.
鈥淕enerally, growth is finished by age 18 in girls and 21 in boys,鈥� says Bogin. 鈥淏ut it can be finished by 15, and in others it might not be finished until age 30.鈥� Despite this, teeth and bone tests have been used in to determine that three-quarters of asylum seekers whose child status was doubted and assessed are older than 18.
鈥淎sylum seekers who claim to be under 18 but are later found to be adults may not even know their true age鈥�
It is impossible to know if such tests can really determine a person鈥檚 age. What鈥檚 more, asylum seekers who claim to be under 18 but are later found to be adults may not even know their true age.
鈥淚t鈥檚 more complicated than just lying,鈥� says Dorling. 鈥淚n terms of the countries they鈥檙e coming from, they don鈥檛 automatically have birth certificates and there is not the same emphasis on birthdays.鈥� UNICEF estimates that between 33 and 60 per cent of births are registered in , where .
Even the age someone becomes an adult is still being debated. 鈥淲e use 18 as a cut-off, as if everything changes on your birthday, which is absurd,鈥� says Dorling.
Our brains undergo changes in areas linked to problem solving and decision-making well into our 20s. A few months ago, a group of neuroscientists in Australia argued that .
Those arguments are based on the healthy development of typical teenagers. It is likely that many seeking asylum will have experienced trauma that may have delayed their cognitive development, says Bogin. 鈥淭rauma can slow everything down,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t may be that someone who has been traumatised will always need some help.鈥�
While all of those contacted by 麻豆传媒 agreed that there should be a distinction in the way children and adults are treated, Dorling wishes that governments provided support for young people who need it, even if they are over 18. 鈥淎 person might be 19, but have all these vulnerabilities, and they need support 鈥� that鈥檚 the problem,鈥� she says.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淎ge is just a number鈥�
