Children Living or Working on the Street

Children living and working on the street are some of the most excluded and unprotected in the world. While some are homeless with their families, or return home at night after working on the street, many others are without parental care or a home and have no viable alternatives. This may be the result of family disintegration, conflict, poverty, HIV/AIDS, abuse or neglect. Life on the street exposes children to a myriad of risks and robs them of the safety and comfort that a family environment can offer.

Children living and working on the streets are highly vulnerable to abuse, exploitation, addictions, and crime, and lack access to everyday essential services such as health and education. Their situation is made more difficult as a result of social perceptions of street children. Street children are frequently targeted by the police, beaten, held and charged without due process. Government policies, institutions, and communities may exclude or marginalise children on the street, and deny their basic human rights.

Children living and working on the streets require legal protection by the state, recognition of their rights, and access to public services. Reception and drop- in centres can provide an entry point to basic services, including shelter, food and health provision, education, and income generation projects. While such initiatives can help to sustain children on the street and protect them from high risk behaviours, organisations working with vulnerable children need to work towards preventative measures to reduce the numbers of children who end up homeless. Prevention begins with an assessment of the causes of family separation, identification of those most at risk, and strategies to support family and community placements.

The opinions and preferences of children already on the street must form an integral part of any strategy since the empowerment of such children is necessary to effect change in their own lives. Community reintegration services should be established where possible to provide children with an alternative to street life. All placements, such as kinship or foster care, must be regulated to ensure that they meet the needs of children and are in their best interests.

The resources in this section provide statistical and country information on the situation of children living and working on the street, assessments of their needs, and intervention examples relating to support services, care planning, and access to health and education programmes.

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Street and Working Children's Participation in Programming for Their Rights

Claire O'Kane, 2003

Focuses on the work of the Butterflies Programme for Street and Working Children in India. Advocates for participatory approaches in child-focused development work.

Working With Street Children: Exploring Ways for ADB Assistance

Judith Ennew, 2003

Outlines a wide range of interventions designed to protect street children, ranging from prevention and reunification to vocational training, economic support, and improved rural infrastracture.

http://www.crin.org/docs/ADB%20working_with_streetkids.pdf

Street and Working Children's Participation in Programming for their Rights

Claire O’Kane, 2003

Outlines the Butterfly Program in India, which utilizes to an empowerment approach to working with children living and working on the streets of New Delhi. Highlights the importance of child participation and rights.

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Difficult Circumstances: Some Reflections on "Street Children" in Africa

Judith Ennew, 2003

An exploration of the factors surrounding children living on the streets in Africa, including comparisons to street children in Latin America.

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Children at Risk: Practical Approaches to Addressing Child Protection in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam

Laurence Gray, 2003

Discusses approaches to protecting at-risk children in five Asian countries. Identifies programming and policy measures that effectively address child abuse. Emphasis on committing all levels of society to coordinated practical response.

Street Children: The Core of Child Abuse and Neglect in Nigeria

P.O. Ebigbo, 31 Dec 2002

A research study which explores the overt and covert abuse and neglect experienced by children, especially by those who work and/or live on the streets, in three Nigerian towns. Includes a brief discussion of the African Network on Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN) in Nigeria.

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All Our Children: Human Rights and Children of the Street

Jonathon Rose, 2002

Brief article arguing for doctors to take a lead role in caring for children on the street. Suggests that physicians could provide direct patient care, advocacy for children's rights, and leadership for reform at the community and national level.

Preventing Child Exploitation on the Streets in the Philippines

Teresita Silva, 2002

Highlights the work of Childhope Asia Philippines and Families and Children for Empowerment and Development in helping street children living in and around Manila.

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Street Children, Human Rights, and Public Health: A Critique and Future Directions

Catherine Panter-Brick, 31 Dec 2001

An analysis of the multi-level factors present in the lives of children living and working on the streets. The author advocates for integrating human rights and child participation based approaches into interventions and supports for at-risk children.

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Floating Children in China: The Problems of Street, Migrating, Trafficked Children, Out of School and Out of Place

Andy West, 01 Jun 2001

Examines the emergence of children living and working on the streets in China. Disaggregates 'street children' as a phenomenon by outlining the underlying causes for their situations. Compares adult perceptions of 'street children' with the children's own perspectives.