A child take onto streets as he or she has no other option. Street children are one of the most vulnerable and oppressed segments of the society. It is the fault of the social system that had made the child so vulnerable. Street children are the most visible result of the increasing gap between the rich and the poor both in the North and the South. (Beers, V.H. 1996)
The vulnerabilities and problems experienced by street children are immense. These include separation from family, homelessness, lack of identification papers, lack of education, poverty, exploitation, the worst forms of labour, abuse, health issues, coercion, control by adult gangs and conflict with the law.
Most of the public, law enforcers and policy makers do not perceive, or tend to ignore, the vulnerabilities that have led them to survive on the streets, but perceive them as a disturbance to the tranquility, stability and normality of society (Glauser, 1990). These children are seen as a nuisance as they bother passers-by begging for money or trying to sell items or services. They are seen as criminals, although only a small percentage of street children are involved in petty crimes. (Beers, 1996) They are seen as competitors for adults in the street who are involved in similar trade. Also they are perceived as poor examples by parents of middle and upper classes for their own children, as street children seem to be beyond any parental control and seem to exhibit a freedom that is threatening. (Aptekar, 1988) Instead of looking at street children as a social menace it’s important to look at and address the root-causes that have made them vulnerable.
These children, as any other human being should have access to their basic needs. It is a social responsibility to work towards protecting rights of the street children, and reclaim their childhoods rather than labeling them as deviants. If a society fails to address the issues of its most vulnerable and marginalized segments that society is failing to fulfill its duties and responsibilities.
Reference
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Ennew, J. (1994) Street and Working Children – A Guide to Planning(Development Manual 4) London, Save the Children
Agnelli, Susanna (presented by).(1986) Street children: a growing urban tragedy: a report for the Independent Commission on International Humanitarian Issues, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson,
Aptekar, Lewis. Street children in the developing world: a review of their condition, Cross-Cultural Research, Vol. 28, N° 3, 1994, pp. 195-224.
Balanon, Lourdes G. Street children: strategies for action, Child Welfare, Vol. 68, N° 2, March-April 1989, pp. 159-166.
Black, Maggie. (1993) Street and working children: summary report of the Innocenti Global Seminar on working and street children, Florence, Italy, 15-25 February 1993, Florence, Italy: ICDC, 56 p. (Innocenti global seminar reports; N° 4)
Boyden, Jo; Holden, Pat. (1991) Children of the cities, London; New Jersey: Zed Books, 1991, viii, 152 p.
LUCCHINI, Riccardo. (1993) Street children: a complex reality, Fribourg, Switzerland: Institute for Economic and Social Sciences (Working paper; N° 224)
Panter-Brick, Catherine; SMITH, Malcom T. (eds). (2000) Abandoned children, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Panter-Brick, Catherine (2001) Street children and their peers: Perspective on hoemlessness, poverty, and health, in Schwartzman, Helen B. (ed.), Westport. Conn. Greenwood, Bergin & Garvey
Williams, Christopher. Who are "street children"?: a hierarchy of street use and appropriate responses, Child Abuse & Neglect, Vol. 17, N° 6, November-December 1993, pp. 831-841.
World Bank. 2000. Urban Age–Who Cares? A Special Report On Street Children. Urban Age
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