Returning Home

Re-assessing your Risk

Certain risks only manifest as the event is winding down. Your participation and the actions that you engage in (e.g. giving statements to the press, appearing in photos with high profile activists, speaking out on a climate issue in your home country, or posting about the event on social media) may increase your profile back home. The effect of this can be positive and negative. It may draw much needed attention to your cause. But for some, it may also mean experiencing increased attention or accusations from the authorities or others who oppose your work, either directly or towards family, friends or others in your activist network.

Completing a Personal Risk Assessment before you go to an event can help you think in advance about these possibilities, and can inform decisions you take about how you want to participate and what risks you are willing to take on.

Most YCAs will not face trouble returning home. However, if you suspect that travelling back may pose a significant risk to yourself or those around you, you should reach out to the Safety Hub to discuss what options you may have. For example, it might be wise to adapt your plans so you can return at a later date once things have calmed down or the situation becomes more clear. In the worst case scenario, you may decide that you need to stay away from home for an extended period of time.

Here are some examples that can help identify if you may be at increased risk if you return home:

  • You have received threats via social media

  • Your family, friends or activist network have received threats or experienced an incident directly or indirectly linked to your participation at the event

  • Government officials or companies have threatened you in the past and you are still campaigning against them

  • You have made public statements that have gained a lot of attention and/or were critical of your government (or could be interpreted as being so)

  • The situation in your home country has changed (e.g. a change of government, an environmental disaster, local unrest or conflict)

Planning Safe Return Travel

If you identify that your risk level has not changed since attending the event (which will be true for most YCAs!) it is still good to take some basic precautions for your return journey:

  • Don’t post about your travel plans on social media

  • Share your travel itinerary with a trusted person and create a check-in plan so they know where you are at what time and how to respond if you miss a check in

  • Share the details of important contacts with your trusted person so they know who to reach out to in case you need additional support (e.g. your delegation organiser)

  • Have someone you trust pick you up at the airport

  • Stay alert to any suspicious incidents during your journey and in the weeks following your return home. Trust your instincts and share any concerns you have with both your local network and your delegation organiser.

  • If an incident occurs, reach out for immediate support (to your delegation organiser, your local network, or the Safety Hub. If possible, write down as much detail about the incident as possible and share that with the person coordinating your incident response.

Key Risks: Returning Home

  • Activism at the event (e.g. engagement with international media) results in increased risk on return, such as:

    • Digital harassment or smear campaigns towards yourself or your network

    • Threats to yourself, your network or your family (via phone calls, direct messages, social media)

    • Surveillance (physical or digital) by state or non-state actors

    • Questioning by authorities upon arrival in home country

  • Unable to return immediately due to increased risk profile

  • Negative impacts to your wellbeing, for example, due to disappointment, stress or burnout