Children In Street Situations Research Articles

Building resilience of street-connected children during COVID-19: turning rights into practices through CINI method.

This article examines the methods and opportunities for SCC's meaningful participation that recognize their agency and are aligned with General Comment No. 21 (GC21) to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) on Children in Street Situations (UNCRC, 1989). This article explains the application of CINI's core practice models which explains the child centrality in development practices for "turning rights into practice for children" derived from the Sustainable Development Goals, principles of Human Rights, UNCRC, and General Comment No. 20 (2016). The Institutional knowledge was practiced through child-led action research with street- connected children which resulted in the development of agency among SCC, peer researchers, and child advocates for resilience building within their community during COVID-19. Child in Need Institute (CINI) has been working with SCC since 1989 and has derived a rich body of experience from the interventions. CINI applied participatory approaches to practice, research, decision-making, and policy development; thus, facilitating children in the process of systematically gathering information with their peers, identifying key issues and problems faced by SCC, and securing support from duty bearers that were required for the survival within their situations. Drawing on the approach undertaken and the tools used in the participatory research and advocacy, this article reflects upon the processes and strategies that worked out in facilitating SCC's ability to exercise agency and resilience through evidence generation and advocacy during COVID-19 and the associated lockdown and beyond. Through capacity building on research tools, leadership and communication skills, SCC can build concrete evidence of their vulnerabilities and the gaps that pose as barriers to their access to existing support mechanisms. This evidence helps them to prioritize the solutions that are required to bring changes in their lives and that of their peers, with which they can advocate at different platforms that promote dialogs and negotiations between children and duty-bearers. A participatory research project funded by Wellcome Trust focused on the vulnerabilities faced by street-connected young people and the access to services available to them. It revealed the lack of understanding regarding SCC and their invisibility in data and planning of support services, the gaps in access to healthcare services, the social determinants of health including safety, and their exclusion in platforms for dialogs with duty bearers. They took these issues to local government leaders, service providers, and national and international advocacy platforms; and suggested solutions to local and world leaders to bring changes in their situations. This resulted in a marked increase in the responsiveness of service providers toward SCC during the period of COVID-19, and the increased agency and negotiation skills of peer leaders to support their communities and demand solutions during the period of COVID-19 and associated lockdown.

Children in Street Situations, Their Determinants, Survival and Strategies. Case of the City of Bujumbura

The aim of this article is to establish the link between the determinants of street life and the violence experienced by children and their survival in the city of Bujumbura. To gather the experiences of our interviewees, we used a life history with semi-structured interviews, and direct and indirect observation. To identify emerging themes, we carried out a thematic analysis of the interview content. Analysis of the empirical corpus of 43 street children reveals nine determinants at the root of the street child phenomenon, grouped into two categories, namely environmental and personal and interpersonal determinants centered on parent-child relationships. There are also determinants linked to educational styles that interact with the child's behavior. The stepmother is often perceived by children and their in-laws as a "ferocious animal’’, even in the absence of a negative upbringing. When family life fails, the street becomes an alternative. Exposed to all forms of violence, child victims become violent, and the cycle of violence is fueled. Stories of life on the streets show that every child has his/ her problems. Previous results show that the determinants of street life are multifactorial and have causal links that are part of a cyclical context of violence. Our results go further, proving that in addition to environmental determinants, there are also personal and interpersonal ones. Combating this phenomenon requires preventive action at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels: preventing the development of the problem, intervening early and, finally, treating the consequences and reintegrating the children.

Children in street situations’ access to healthcare: qualitative findings from the Street Child World Cup 2022

BackgroundChildren in street situations (those who live or work on the street) are known to face barriers in accessing healthcare.MethodsThe study combined a remote survey with 33 adult non-governmental organisation...

Exiting Commercial Sex Work: a Case of Adolescent Street Girls of the Harare Central Business District in Zimbabwe

AbstractThe paper interrogates narratives of adolescent street girls of the Harare Central Business District, Zimbabwe, exiting commercial sex work. A qualitative research methodology punctuated by street ethnography was adopted to gather data for the paper. A feminist social work approach and empowerment theory were used to have a deeper understanding of the lives of these children. Research findings suggest that there were very few cases where adolescent street girls of Harare Central Business District were successfully exiting transactional sex. There were varied and multiple reasons why they could not successfully exit commercial sex work. Some of them included addiction on commercial sex work, limited survival options outside commercial sex work, peer pressure, street subculture, and substance abuse. The paper concludes by advocating and lobbying key stakeholders such as the Government of Zimbabwe to improve the lives of children in street situations through provision of social protection mechanisms.

Agency, aspirations and citizenship: Non‐formal education from the perspective of children in street situations in Pakistan

AbstractThis paper explores an NGO‐based non‐formal education (NFE) intervention in Pakistan from the perspective of its recipients, children in street situations. Recognizing children as agential beings, we draw on participant observation and in‐depth semi‐structured interviews with 20 children, aged 10–19 years. Young people discussed the impact of the intervention on their self‐worth and future aspirations. They also reflected on their growing awareness of civic issues and citizenship rights. The study emphasizes the importance of NFE in providing opportunities to the most marginalized and those without adequate documentation, particularly in a context when state support can be lacking.

Street-connectedness through a COVID-19 lens: Exploring media representations of street-connected children to understand their societal positionality

The 2017 general comment (GC21) to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) on children in street situations, provides a framework of legal guidance for governments developing policies aimed at protecting street-connected children and sets up the rationale for more awareness raising and public education to counter negative and deficit attitudes towards street-connectedness. Within this framework, the media has a role to play in either challenging conceptualisations of street-connected children as out-of-place within the public and predominantly adult domain described by urban streets, or in reinforcing ideological constructions of citizenship and normalised notions of childhood that result in negative stereotypes of these children. GC21 recommends that interventions targeted at street-connected children should be ethically responsible – adopting child rights approaches aimed at using accurate data/evidence that upholds the dignity of children, their personal integrity, and their right to life. As such, these approaches should also extend to how organisations engage with and utilise the media to represent street-connected children. Focusing on media representations of street-connected children during the six pandemic-affected months of February to July 2020, this paper provides a review of the content of the sources to provide an insight into the structural barriers that face street-connected children because of how they are positioned in society, during the pandemic and in general, and the extent to which the media reinforces or counters the rescue or removal narratives that can lead to inappropriate intervention responses.

Trust Issues in the Health Communication of Childreen in Street Situation

Children in street situations are a social problem faced in various cities in Indonesia. Efforts to protect children in street situations facing multiple issues. One of them is related to fulfilling the identity rights of children in street situations. This study aims to identify how a communication approach can foster interpersonal trust in children on the streets. The type of research used is descriptive qualitative using a phenomenology approach. There are many problems affecting confidence in children in street situations. It started from a lack of security and health issues that were not touched upon to the communication approach's problem. Communication intensity is the primary key to gaining interpersonal trust from children in street situations. Children's communication patterns in unique street situations also need to be responded to with a more informal approach. The actors involved need to reconsider the type of empowerment shown to children in street situations.

Using a sociological conceptualization of stigma to explore the social processes of stigma and discrimination of children in street situations in western Kenya

BackgroundThe leading causes of street involvement worldwide are poverty, family conflict, and abuse. A common misconception is that street involvement is due to delinquency, a belief leading to social exclusion and social inequality for children in street situations (CSS). Exploring community perceptions of CSS and the reproduction of social difference and inequalities can help reduce stigma and discrimination. ObjectiveTo explore how stigma and discrimination of CSS was produced and reproduced in specific contexts of culture and power. Participants and settingSocial actors including CSS, healthcare providers, children’s officers, and police officers in western Kenya. MethodsUsing a sociological conceptualization of stigma, this qualitative study explored the stigmatization processes that take shape in specific contexts of culture and power. We conducted 41 in-depth interviews and 7 focus group discussions with a total of 100 participants. ResultsCSS were often labeled “chokoraa” or garbage picker, a label linked to undesirable characteristics constituting “evils” in society and stereotyped beliefs that they were “delinquents,” reinforcing their “otherness” and devalued social status. CSS experienced individual and structural discrimination leading to exclusion from social and economic life. ConclusionCSS were stigmatized when labeled, set apart, and linked to negative characteristics leading to their experience of status loss and discrimination. CSS’s differentness and devalued status served to limit their access to societal resources and deemed them unworthy of equal rights. Interventions involving various social actors are needed to challenge negative stereotypes, reduce stigma, and uphold CSS’s human rights.

Human Rights Violations Against Street Children Working in the Informal Economy in Bangladesh: Findings from a Qualitative Study

In Bangladesh, there are an estimated 1.5 million children who are forced to live and/or work on the streets. These children are commonly referred to as street-connected children, children in street situations, or street children. The present article draws on findings related to Bangladeshi street children’s income-generating activities (IGAs) in the informal economy, from a larger qualitative study, in which 75 street children participated in in-depth interviews. The authors explored street children’s experiences of human rights violations while working in the informal economy and the nature of their employment including employment-related risks, abuse, and exploitation. The following questions were considered: what types of jobs did street children secure?; what were the risks involved in these jobs?; and what types of human rights abuses and exploitation did children encounter in these jobs? Findings indicated that the IGAs most available to street children were “3-D” jobs (dirty, dangerous, and demanding), which placed children at greater risk for abuse, including sexual abuse, and exploitation, while the conditions faced by street children involved in IGAs violated their human rights on a daily basis. In order to protect these vulnerable children, policy and program interventions are urgently needed, as well as the strict enforcement of human rights instruments, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

English

This research examines the socio-economic conditions of street children in Shashemene Town of Oromia National Regional State. The purpose was to assess the socio-economic conditions of street children in Shashemene Town. In order to realize this aim, both qualitative and quantitative types of data were collected from primary and secondary sources. The quantitative data were collected from 234 street children through interview schedule while qualitative data were gathered using key informants interview, focus group discussions and observation. Sample street children were selected by using stratified sampling techniques. Then, the collected data from different sources were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods of data analysis. All the data obtained from different sources were triangulated to arrive at sound conclusions regarding the socio-economic conditions of street children in Shashemene. The underlying and basic factors pushing the larger number of street children unto the streets lie in the increasing number of families surviving under extreme poverty and family breakdown. They engaged in unskilled jobs like vending, carrying goods, shoe shining and lottery selling. The street children who work and live on the streets of Shashemene were found to be vulnerable to wide and extreme violations of their rights. They were verbally, physically and sexually abused by different perpetrators. There is a need to consider variables such as factors accounting for streetism, the current socio-economic conditions of street children and difficulties children face in the streets to tackle severe socio-economic conditions of street children. Therefore, it is recommended that the national and regional policy makers must be sensitive to the issue of children in street situations and the economical and societal hazards to which they are exposed. Shashemene Town office of small and micro-enterprise and local NGOs should create job opportunities for street children and enhance children’s creativity by providing training and reunite street children with their families. Key words: Shashemene, socio-economic conditions, street children.

Institutionalisation of Children’s Rights: Transformability and Situated Agency

In a previous article (Stoecklin, 2017), I considered the example of the “paradox of institutionalisation” (Stammers, 2013) occurring in the drafting of the General Comment on Children in Street Situations (UNCRC, 2016). The vision of children’s “living rights” as the outcome of a structured process translating specific claims into an institutionalised set of norms (Hanson and Nieuwenhuys, 2013) has been identified. Analysis of the labels used for “street children” underlines the transformability of signification, domination and legitimation in the theory of structuration (Giddens, 1979, 1984). In this article, a theory of situated agency is outlined. It provides a new framework to understand the institutionalisation of children’s rights as the dual structuration of subjects (children) and objects (rights) occuring in given contexts. This makes “rights acting children” emerge as an interdisciplinary concept.

The Lack of Recognition of the Rights of Children in Street Situations. An Approach from the Theoretical Proposal of Axel Honneth

The Lack of Recognition of the Rights of Children in Street Situations. An Approach from the Theoretical Proposal of Axel Honneth

The General Comment on Children in Street Situations: Insights into the Institutionalisation of Children’s Rights

The drafting of the General Comment (gc) on Children in Street Situations ( uncrc, 2016), whereby the sociological perspective (Lucchini, 1993, 1996, 2007; Stoecklin, 2000a, 2007) that informed this labelling becomes lost in translation, provides a convincing example of the ‘paradox of institutionalisation’ (Stammers, 2013). The vision of children’s “living rights” as the outcome of a structured process translating specific claims into an institutionalised set of norms (Hanson and Nieuwenhuys, 2013) is thus specified. Analysis of the labels used for “street children” underlines the transformability of signification, domination and legitimisation in the theory of structuration (Giddens, 1979, 1984).

Policy Discourse on Marginalised Youth in Albania: The Constraints of the ‘Normalisation’ and ‘Integration’ Policy Approaches for Inclusive Education

The paper addresses the complex phenomenon of marginalised youth and particularly children in street situation in the Albanian contemporary society. Through a qualitative methodology of critical discourse analysis, the paper investigates the most relevant policy documents on inclusive education for marginalised youth in Albania. The paper is interested in exploring the conceptualisation of marginalised youth, specifically children in street situation, as embedded in policy documents, action plans and intervention programmes for inclusive education. The intention here is to discover the explicit and implicit themes of the policy discourse on marginalised youth in Albania and the how it impacts the approaches adopted by the government to address the phenomenon. The critical discourse analysis on policy framework shows that the discourse on marginalised youth in the public sphere (re)produces and reinforces already existing aspects of social deprivation, marginalization and discrimination. The research shows that there are limited efforts to elaborate the concepts of ‘marginalised youth’ and ‘children in street situation’ and that there is confusion in policy regarding the use of the terms. In addition, children in street situation are seen either as victims of socio-economic hardship and endangered by their presence in the spaces of the ‘street’ or as a possible threat to the rest of the society, i.e. the street criminalises children. The research shows two main policy approaches: (i) correctional or repressive-oriented policy approach that conceives ‘street children’ as a danger to public order whose features differentiate from mainstream childhood and as such invites intervention programmes that tend to ‘normalise’ children; (ii) protective or rehabilitative policy approaches, i.e. emphasising children needs and aiming at protecting and re-integrating them in family and mainstream society. The paper takes a critical stance on the current policy discourse and the consequent policy approaches of ‘normalisation’ and ‘integration’ and argues for a reconceptualization of children in street situation as social actors based on the notion of childhood as socially constructed. It is thus necessary to link research on the socialisation processes, identity construction and resilience of marginalised youth in the spaces of the street based on their dynamic lifestyles and perspectives with policy development.

The need for a contextual approach in identifying street-connected children for purposes of intervention

ABSTRACTOver the years, the major challenge to the protection of street-connected children’s fundamental rights has been the homogeneous conceptualisation of categories of children who fall within the ambit of street-connected children (SCC). As such, often, states – as duty-bearers – have narrowly identified SCC. This article argues that, if the rights of these children are to be effectively guaranteed, the phenomenon of SCC will need to be contextually conceptualised. A contextual approach, it is argued, affords broader protection to all affected children because it places emphasis on children’s interaction with the street, and how it impacts on their fundamental rights. However, because of the well augmented homogeneous definitions of SCC already in place, a contextual approach warrants express delineation so that the broader obligations of duty bearers are made more apparent. Against this backdrop, since the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is in the process of developing a General Comment (GC) on SCC, this process presents the CRC with a momentous opportunity to make the contextual approach more apparent. Following a brief introduction, the article gives an overview of the varying homogeneous definitions of SCC and their limitations in affording broader protection to children. A brief discussion of the realities of children in street situations in Africa follows. Subsequently, the potential of the forthcoming GC on SCC to clearly substantiate and further the cause of a contextual approach is underscored.

Sharing and distrusting: street merchants' view of children in street situations

Objective To understand the meanings, through the description of experiences that street merchants have of their interactions with children in a street situation in downtown of Medellin in 2013. Methodology Qualitative investigation with ethnographic approach. Observations were made in the zone at different times of the day. Twelve interviews with street merchants were held in their work places. Records were kept in a field journal. Results The street merchants and children in street situations share the same space. Both groups try to survive and their relationship is mediated by the trust-distrust that is established between them. The coexistence generates ambivalent feelings. For the street merchants, children in street situations are the result of abandonment by the family, the state and society. They live in a hard world in which they are exposed to a series of risks that they must face. Conclusion The interaction between street merchants and children in street situations is good to the extent that conflicts are avoided, establishing norms of coexistence. The element that determines this relationship is trust-distrust. In trust, strong affective ties are generated, considering each other family. Distrust generates a preventative attitude.

Las aportaciones de 40 años de investigación epidemiológica en México sobre consumo de solventes inhalables

Resumen Antecedentes. El estudio del consumo de solventes inhalables en México se inició en la década de 1970 y a pesar de que por periodos ha disminuido el interés en el mismo, éste no ha desaparecido y debido a que el consumo prevalece entre la población joven, es relevante actualizar el estado del arte en la materia. Objetivo. Identificar el estado del conocimiento sobre los solventes inhalables, las consecuencias, las alternativas de prevención y su tratamiento en las cuatro últimas décadas en México. Método. Se realizó una búsqueda bibliográfica entre agosto y septiembre de 2014, de los artículos publicados entre 1970 y 2014 sobre el consumo de solventes inhalables en México. Se integraron publicaciones incluidas en el archivo histórico de la Dirección de Investigaciones Epidemiológicas y Psicosociales, en la revista SALUD MENTAL, Medline, Elsevier y Scielo México. Resultados. Se identificaron 1083 artículos, 83 cumplieron con todos los criterios para ser incluidos en el análisis. Estos trabajos se realizaron en diferentes poblaciones: grupos marginales, integrantes de bandas juveniles, niños en situación de calle, adultos y menores recluidos en centros de detención, sexoservidoras, personas que acuden a solicitar tratamiento, estudiantes y población general. Discusión y conclusión. Se identificaron diferentes aspectos relevantes de la población consumidora de solventes inhalables en nuestro país, así como acciones pendientes en materia de investigación, con lo que se pueden desarrollar programas de prevención y tratamiento que atiendan las necesidades específicas de estos grupos, ya que son pocos los programas existentes y algunos no han tenido seguimiento o evaluación.

Breaking silence: exploring motherhood and social transformation in a participatory action research with Alteñan mothers

In November 2012, a researcher, two social workers and five mothers embarked on a participatory action research (PAR) journey with the aim to develop new ideas for interventions for children and young people in street situations of the city of El Alto in Bolivia. In this article, we attend to the topic of personal and social transformation in PAR. We explore how the mothers of young people in street situations perform and negotiate their subjectivities as mothers in their everyday life; how they create (new) subjectivities in exchange and in interaction with each other during the mother project; and how the performance of their (new) subjectivities can bring social change. The mothers in our group shared stories of being silenced by social services in their everyday lives, as their motherhood is declared not good enough or as they are perceived too guilty to claim for help. It was the first time the mothers shared their stories with other mothers of their lives with their children in street situations. By noticing that they all experienced or heard of similar events that their children were subjected to in the streets, the mothers grew confident enough to talk back. Mothers talked back by denouncing injustice and by transforming doubts into questions, providing them with more knowledge. Finally, as the mothers reached out to social services, mothers’ presence, questions and stories confronted aid workers with their own flaws, and their comfortable discourse of blaming families, creating new paths towards social transformation.

“Malinches y Guadalupanas”: representaciones sobre la figura maternal entre los niños y niñas de la calle en la ciudad de México

A partir del trabajo de campo realizado con la infancia en situación de calle en México Distrito Federal, mi intención al escribir este artículo es reflexionar sobre las representaciones que tanto niños, como niñas tienen acerca de sus madres y cómo estas, están íntimamente relacionadas con la construcción de la sexualidad femenina en la cultura mexicana, donde existen dos arquetipos representativos de las mujeres, hablamos de la “Malinche” y la “Virgen de Guadalupe”. Símbolos con connotaciones morales diversas que han configurado los mandatos de género en la sociedad mexicana. Un análisis desde la mirada feminista que pretende mostrar la relación existente entre la simbología de la sexualidad de las mujeres mexicanas, la figura maternal y las causas que intervienen en la decisión de niños y niñas a la hora de abandonar sus hogares. Una articulación necesaria a desentrañar si entendemos que la intervención en Trabajo Social conlleva comprender la realidad y la mirada de nuestros interlocutores.

Urban livelihoods from children’s perspectives: protecting and promoting assets on the streets of Dhaka

This paper investigates what children in street situations in Dhaka value as important, and how they protect and promote their livelihoods when living on the street. It argues that, despite the common belief held by many people in mainstream society, in the realm of policy and in NGOs, these children are not destitute. They have dynamic portfolios of assets and show complex coping strategies generally managed in a group. When considering policy implications, this paper argues that to be effective, sustainable and respectful, intervention has to abandon the focus on children’s deprivations often fostered by a strict interpretation of children’s rights. On the contrary, a more systematic investigation of children’s initiatives to improve their lives when on the street should guide interventions on how to help them strengthen their assets, rather than to create substitutes for them.