VULNERABLE / STREET CHILDREN

PRESENTED BY ;

HAMZAT ZAHEED SAPARA ADEOLA

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OUTLINESIntroduction

Definition

Categories of children

Causes. Whose responsibility?

Effects/ consequences

Victim or victimizers

How do street children survive?

Solutions.

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INTRODUCTION

• A child is vulnerable if, because of the circumstances of birth or immediate environment, is prone to abuse or

deprivation of basic needs, care and protection and thus disadvantaged relative to his or her peers (FMWA&SD

2008).

• A vulnerable child includes: children in need of alternative family care; children who are abused or neglected;

children in hard-to-reach areas; children with disability related vulnerability; children affected by armed

conflict; and children in need of legal protection (FMWA&SD 2007).

• A vulnerable child is one (that): with inadequate access to education, health and other social support, has a

chronically ill parent, lives in a household with terminally or chronically ill parent(s) or caregiver(s), lives

outside of family care (lives with extended family, in institution, or on street), is infected with HIV

(FMWA&SD 2006)

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GROUPS OF VULNERABLE CHILDREN

STREET CHILDRENChildren with physical and mental disabilities

- Sexually abused children- Neglected children

- Children in conflict with the law- Exploited “Almajiri”

- Child beggars, destitute children and scavengers- Children from broken homes

- Child sex workers- Children whose parents have disability

- Children who marry before the age of 18- Children who have dropped out of school

- Abandoned children- Children living with terminally or chronically ill parent(s) and

caregiver(s)- Child laborers

- Children in child-headed homes- Internally displaced children

- ORPHAN- Trafficked children

- Children of migrant workers such as fishermen, nomads- Children living with HIV

- Children living with aged/frail grandparents

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• Street children are the casualties of economic growth, war, poverty, loss of traditional values, domestic

violence, physical and mental abuse.

• Every street child has a reason for being on the streets. While some children are lured by the promise of

excitement and freedom.

• The majority are pushed onto the street by desperation and a realization that they have nowhere else to

go.

• What is obvious is that street children are poverty-stricken and their needs and problems are a result of

wanting to meet basic needs for survival.

• Street children go through the struggle of providing themselves with basic things such as food, shelter,

health and clothing.

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DEFINITION• “Any girl or boy who has not reached adulthood, for whom the street (in the broadest sense of the

word, including unoccupied dwellings, wasteland, etc.) has become her or his habitual abode and/or

sources of livelihood, and who is inadequately protected, supervised or directed by responsible adults”

UNICEF

• The term street children refers to children for whom the street more than their family has become their

real home. It includes children who might not necessarily be homeless or without families, but who

live in situations where there is no protection, supervision, or direction from responsible adults. - Human Rights Watch.

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THE EPIDEMIC OF STREET CHILDREN IS A GLOBAL ISSUE

Street children are typically between the ages of 6 and 17 years old and live without adult support

Africa, Asia and Latin America have the highest number of street children

Almost all countries have children who are homeless and living in the streets

10.7% of the 69 million children are vulnerable (UNICEF, 2007)

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Global urbanization is attributed to growing numbers of homeless children

Many children leave their homes in smaller towns to work in larger cities

Estimations on how many children are living on the street is between 10 million and 100 million

globally

Street children move frequently and are often reluctant of adults, so information on the children is

limited.

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UNICEF divides street children into two main categories:

.Children on the street are those engaged in some kind of economic activity ranging from

begging to vending. Because of the economic fragility of the family, these children may eventually

opt for a permanent life on the streets.

Children of the street actually live on the street (or outside of a normal family environment).

Family ties may exist but are tenuous and are maintained only casually or occasionally.

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TYPES

A ‘child of the streets’, have no home but the streets. The family may have abandoned him or her

or may have no family members left alive. Such a child has to struggle for survival and might

move from friend to friend, or live in shelters such as abandoned buildings.

1• Street-Living

2• Street-

Working

3• Street-

Family

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A child ‘on the street’, visits his or her family regularly. The child might even return every night to

sleep at home, but spends most days and some nights on the street because of poverty, overcrowding,

sexual or physical abuse at home.

A part of a street family. Some children live on the sidewalks or city squares with the rest of their

families. Families displaced due to poverty, natural disasters, or wars may be forced to live on the

streets. They move their possessions from place to place when necessary. Often the children in these

‘street families’ work on the streets with other members of their families.

In institutionalized care, having come from a situation of homelessness and at risk of returning to a

homeless existence.

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THE TYPICAL AGE AND GENDER OF A STREET CHILD.

The typical age of a street child varies from place to place. In developing countries children as

young as eight live completely on their own. In developed countries, street children are usually

over the age of twelve.

The proportion of girls among street children is reported to be less than 30% in developing

countries and about 50% in many developed countries.

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WHY DO CHILDREN TAKE TO THESTREET?

To earn money for themselves and support their families.

To find shelter

To escape from family problems including

rejection

To escape from work demands in the home

To escape from a children’s institution.

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THE PROBLEMS OF STREET CHILDREN

SOCIAL PROBLEMS

PHYSICAL PROBLEMS

PSYCHOLOGICAL/MENTAL

PROBLEMS

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SOCIAL PROBLEMS

Poverty and Illiteracy.

Discrimination and lack of accessible resources.

Violent EnvironmentStigmatization.

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PHYSICAL PROBLEMS

LACK OF ADEQUATE NUTRITION

COMMON DISEASES

SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE

HEALTH PROBLEMS.

INJURIES

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PSYCHOLOGICAL/MENTAL PROBLEMS

A Stressful

Past.

A Transitory Lifestyle.

Mental Health.

Substance use

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HOW DO YOU SEE THEM?

VICTIMSVICTIMIZERSCRIMINALS

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HOW DO STREET CHILDREN SURVIVE?

PERSONAL STRENGTHS: The child's resourcefulness (the ability to solve problems quickly

and efficiently with available resources), and resilience (the ability to recover from shock,

depression, and other difficult circumstances) determine his/ her survival.

THE PEER GROUP: The group often determines the process of change, socialization and

development among street children by providing emotional and material support. Street children

often help in one another's survival

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CHANCE FACTORS: An important thing that determines the mode of survival is the people

whom the child meets on the first day away from home, whether it is a group of car washers or

drug traffickers. Being new to the situation he or she does not know that there are other ways of

surviving on the street.

EXPLOITERS: Street children may have to do many unhealthy or dangerous things to survive.

Other street children, the police, and the adults who run the sex and drug trades may easily

victimize them.

OTHER SUPPORT MECHANISMS AMONG STREET CHILDREN: These mechanisms

could be related to trade or activities in the streets and tend to be hierarchical. For example, there

may be a leader and a spokesperson.

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SOLUTION

Child Protection

Shelter

Food and Nutrition

Health

Education & Training

Psychosocial Support

Economic Strengthening

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REFERENCES• World Health Organization (WHO). Working With Street Children; Monitoring and Evaluation of

a Street Children Project 2002

• Rachel M. Kuiken, Lauren Gamberdella, Meredith Wood. Global Care of Orphaned and

Vulnerable Children. The Research and Scholarship Symposium, Cedarville University 2014.

• United Nation Children Education Fund (UNICEF)

• Boston University, Center for Global Health and Development in collaboration with Initiative for

Integrated Community Welfare in Nigeria; Nigeria Research Situation Analysis on Orphans and

Other Vulnerable Children 2009.

• Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development (2008). 2008 Situation Assessment

and Analysis on OVC in Nigeria.