Seen As A Threat, Otherwise Overlooked: The Vulnerabilities Faced By Young Men On The Move

Young Men on the Move: Who Is Considered Vulnerable in Europe's Humanitarian Response?

In public debates about migration in Europe, young men are frequently discussed in terms of security risks, economic migration, and integration challenges. Particularly among right-wing and far-right political movements, the image of young male refugees and migrants has become closely associated with demands for stricter border controls and restrictions on the right to asylum. Women, children, and families receive particular attention from humanitarian organisations due to increased vulnerabilities faced during displacement, with efforts for increased access to specialised accommodation, protection programmes, and other services. Young men travelling alone, however, struggle to receive appropriate assistance despite facing psychological distress, homelessness and a lack of stable and adequate employment opportunities. In Greece, where such deficiencies have been extensively documented, this raises an important question: To what extent do assumptions about gender determine whose needs are recognised and whose remain overlooked?

Who Is Considered Vulnerable?

The identification of vulnerable individuals is an important part of the EU asylum system. People with disabilities, survivors of torture and sexual violence, pregnant women, unaccompanied children, and individuals with serious health conditions may require specialised assistance. Yet difficulties arise when assessments of vulnerability are shaped not only by individual circumstances, but also by assumptions about gender and age. In its 2024 practical guide on the mental health and well-being of applicants for international protection, the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) acknowledges that young single men may be insufficiently included in reception-centre activities because they are not considered vulnerable. The agency also highlights the financial and emotional pressures faced by young men whose families have made considerable sacrifices to enable their journeys to Europe, often expecting them to provide support from abroad. These observations challenge the assumption that young adult men are necessarily better equipped to manage displacement independently. The UNHCR Integration Handbook also notes that social expectations surrounding masculinity can discourage displaced men from discussing emotional difficulties or approaching mental-health professionals. Combined with limited services and inadequate outreach, this can leave people who hesitate to ask for assistance without the support they need.

Limited Access to Housing and Basic Support

These assumptions become particularly consequential when it comes to access to accommodation. In Greece, the availability of suitable housing for refugees and asylum seekers has remained a serious concern for years. While humanitarian accommodation programmes and specialised shelters provide crucial assistance, their limited capacity means that organisations and authorities frequently have to prioritise among individuals seeking support.

A 2024 study on displaced men's access to housing in Greece documents how young and single men can be placed at the end of accommodation waiting lists, even when they have experienced serious hardship. The researchers describe cases involving men with disabilities, survivors of torture, and individuals experiencing severe mental-health difficulties who struggled to access suitable housing. Their findings illustrate how assumptions about gender can affect not only the identification of people's needs, but also the practical distribution of assistance.

At the same time, the housing crisis affects the wider refugee population in Greece. In its 2026 report on recognised refugees, Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) documents persistent obstacles to obtaining essential documents, accessing healthcare, and securing accommodation. The organisation warns that administrative barriers and insufficient housing support continue to expose people on the move to homelessness and destitution.

These problems do not disappear once someone receives refugee status or leaves a reception facility. On the contrary, the transition towards independent living can bring new challenges, especially in the face of limited financial resources, a lack of knowledge of the Greek language, or the struggle to obtain the documents necessary for employment and social assistance. According to UNHCR's protection monitoring findings for 2024, approximately half of the 548 respondents interviewed were unemployed, with housing costs, accessibility to jobs, and language barriers identified as the main obstacles to independent living.

Young Men as a Political Threat: The Gendered Rhetoric of Migration Control

Since 2015, young male refugees and migrants have been targeted by two overlapping narratives of danger. Following terrorist attacks across Europe, migration was increasingly discussed in connection with violent extremism and threats to national security. At the same time, young racialized men have been portrayed as a danger to women, often being targeted by narratives associating them with sexual violence and criminality. The first narrative casts young men as a collective threat to European states, while the second portrays them as potential perpetrators in everyday encounters. 

Importantly, these representations are not confined to far-right electoral campaigns. In the run-up to the 2019 European elections, Manfred Weber, the leading candidate of the European People's Party, argued for prioritising “particularly vulnerable refugees” rather than young adult men who, in his view, could remain in refugee camps outside the EU. Research on family-based refugee resettlement policies identifies such arguments as part of a wider tendency to associate single men with lower protection needs and greater difficulties integrating into European societies. The political consequences of these perceptions are noticeable: A comparative study across six EU member states found that public support for temporary protection was greater when refugee populations were described as containing more women and children rather than men. 

In a political environment where migration remains a contested electoral issue, such preferences may influence which protection measures governments consider publicly acceptable. This raises an uncomfortable question for European institutions and humanitarian organisations alike: To what extent are young men's protection needs assessed according to their individual circumstances, and to what extent are perceptions of their vulnerability shaped by a political climate in which they are portrayed as potential threats? 

When Insecurity Deepens: Homelessness and Substance Use in Athens

The consequences of inadequate humanitarian protection become especially apparent in cities, where people who lose access to accommodation or organised support must navigate already overstretched public services. In Athens, homelessness, limited access to healthcare, and uncertain legal circumstances can leave young men on the move exposed to further risks.

Among these is the risk of developing a substance use disorder. While the use of drugs and alcohol is often discussed in public debates through the language of criminality and public disorder, humanitarian and public health organisations have increasingly drawn attention to the circumstances that can contribute to harmful substance use among displaced populations. According to a joint report by the EU's drug monitoring and asylum agencies, experiences of trauma, prolonged uncertainty, social isolation, unemployment, and inadequate access to mental-health services can contribute to substance use, including as a means of coping with psychological distress.

In Athens, these problems intersect with an urban environment in which homelessness and drug-related harm are already significant public health concerns. The SEMID-EU project, which examined the experiences of people with migration backgrounds who use drugs in four European capitals, identified substantial barriers to accommodation, healthcare, and harm-reduction services. In particular, insecure residence status, difficulties obtaining documentation, and limited access to culturally appropriate support can prevent people from receiving assistance when it is most urgently needed.

The situation becomes even more concerning when access to healthcare is interrupted. In October 2024, Médecins Sans Frontières warned that people seeking protection in Greece may lose access to essential medical services following negative asylum decisions, further aggravating existing mental-health difficulties. For those experiencing homelessness or unstable accommodation, the absence of consistent medical care can increase the danger of relying on unregulated substances to manage physical or psychological distress.

Rethinking Humanitarian Protection

These concerns do not diminish the urgent need for specialised services for women, children, and survivors of gender-based violence. They call instead for humanitarian structures that respond to the different circumstances in which people experience displacement.

The challenge is not to replace one set of priorities with another, but to ensure that limited resources and institutional procedures do not reproduce assumptions about who can endure hardship without assistance.

In practice, this would require more individualised assessments of protection needs, greater attention to the psychological well-being of young men, and improved access to housing, language learning, employment assistance, and legal information. Humanitarian organisations and reception authorities must also recognise that people who are reluctant to seek help may nevertheless be in serious need of it. This makes accessible services and proactive outreach particularly important.

Ultimately, the experiences of young men on the move expose a wider problem in EU migration policy. While debates continue to focus on border management and the economic implications of migration, the everyday realities of people navigating these systems receive considerably less attention. Importantly, categories such as age or gender alone should not determine whether someone is considered deserving of humanitarian assistance.

If the Union’s humanitarian response is to uphold its commitment to human dignity and equal protection, it must recognise that vulnerability cannot be reduced to a narrow set of demographic characteristics.