OVC Support Toolkit  >  Living environments  >  Children living outside of family care 

The street

This section looks at issues relating to children and young people living on the street. Another section looks in general at issues facing children and young people living outside of family care. Other sections look in detail at children and young people living on commercial farms, in prisons and in situations of conflict.

Key points about 'street children' are:

• They are defined by the United Nations as children and young people for whom the street has become their home and/or source of livelihood, and who are inadequately protected or supervised by responsible adults.
• They are mostly boys. Girls are more likely to become involved in domestic work or selling sex.
• There are 'push' and 'pull' factors which cause children and young people to be on the street. Parental death due to HIV/AIDS is an increasingly important 'push' factor.
• Street children are vulnerable to many problems. They are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection as a result of survival and commercial sex.
• There are many examples of programmes which are working effectively with street children. Key principles have been developed from that work.

Street Children: Who are They?

The United Nations defines street children as girls and boys for whom the street has become their home and/or source of livelihood, and who are inadequately protected or supervised by responsible adults. This is a broad definition. It includes homeless children who live on the street. It also includes children and young people who earn their livelihood by working on the streets. It does not include children who live on the street with their families.

The number of street children are increasing in many cities around the world. They are mainly seen in cities and are said to be one feature of the increasing number of people moving to cities from rural areas.

Most street children are boys. Girls are also affected by the same things that cause boys to move to the streets. However, they are more likely to become domestic workers or to be involved in selling sex. In many cases, both these kinds of work amount to a type of slavery. Girls working as domestic workers are often sexually abused. Girls living and working on the street are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse.

Why do Children Move to the Street?

In many cases, children and young people choose to move from a rural area to the city and then find themselves living on the street because they are unable to live elsewhere. Reasons for such rural-urban movement can be categorised as 'push' and 'pull' factors.

Factors which 'push' children and young people away from the rural areas include:

• Poverty and lack of economic opportunity.
• Rural underdevelopment.
• Hardships and uncertainties of subsistence farming.
• Abuse, violence and family break-up. Many children and young people report problems with step-mothers as a major factor in their decision to leave home.
• Parental death - many children and young people living on the street are 'double orphans'. In some cases, these children were first taken in by an adult relative who then themselves died. This reason and others provide a link between street children in cities and child-headed households in rural areas. Factors causing children and young people to live on the street in cities are also causing them to live as child-headed households in rural areas.

Factors which pull children and young people towards cities include:

• Improved job opportunities.
• Leisure and entertainment.
• Reports from peers of positive experiences.
• A sense of adventure.

Problems of the Street

Street children face a wide range of problems on the street. These include:

• Work-related problems - long hours, low pay and dangerous conditions.
• Poor diet.
• Lack of shelter - poor hygiene and overcrowding.
• Poor access to health care and education.
• Harassment from the authorities, adults and other children and young people. Street children are often in conflict with the law. They risk arrest and imprisonment.
• Sexual abuse. They may engage in sexual activities for money or simply to survive. They are vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
• Substance use - including glue sniffing, illegal drugs and alcohol.

Appropriate Responses

Programmes which aim to work with street children should be focused on the child's 'best interests'. This means starting working with them where they are and not trying to force them to leave the streets. In some places, authorities have introduced activities which are focused strongly on children and young people leaving the street. These are usually motivated by factors other than the best interest of the child, such as civic/political pressure to 'clean up' the streets.

Appropriate activities may assist them to find alternatives to life on the street. Equally, they may assist them to remain safe while on the street. Key features of appropriate activities for children and young people living on the street include:

• Establishing a sense of trust with the children and young people. Many street children mistrust adults, particularly those in authority. Overcoming this mistrust is essential for an effective programme and for the children and young people to be more integrated in the community.
• Building skills which enable children and young people to earn income or to gain employment.
• Imaginative ways of providing education and health care for street children.
• Advocating on behalf of street children with those in authority. This may be done at national level. However, it is particularly needed at local level. For example, programmes working with street children will need to engage with police officers in the area to try to encourage a more supportive approach to street children.
• Ensuring that street children participate in design of programmes. They should also participate in decisions which affect them.
• Reducing their vulnerability and risk to sexual abuse and its consequences.
• Working with families, the community and other organisations.
• Seeking to address the reasons why children move to the streets.

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