By Hajra Khan, Research Intern
On World Children’s Day 2020, we are committed to a future where the #VoicesofYouth are amplified and understood. In the spirit of representation, Cities for Children conducted a “mythbuster” campaign to tackle some of the misperceptions that exist regarding street-connected children in Pakistan. Our hope is to help build a future in which street-children are counted, seen and heard.
While some children in street situations may be vulnerable to recruitment and exploitation by gangs, “street child” is not a monolithic identity. Some may be unaccompanied children “of the street,” but as urban poverty rises, an increasing number of street-connected children find themselves “on the street” to earn for themselves and their families, who they return to. This phenomenon is only growing due to the pressures created by the COVID-19 economy, with high unemployment as well as rising prices.
Society tends to alienate and stigmatise the “street child,” particularly criminalising their survival actions. Children on the streets are often stigmatised for being there, being treated as a nuisance or being labelled a “menace.” The language used to describe them and what they do often does not take their lives, their background and their own agency into account, either using a frame of victimisation or of criminalisation.
Let’s take the time to understand where street-connected children come from, and what pushes them onto the streets. Not all of them have the same story!
Although street children are exposed to a number of dangers on the street; they are often highly resilient individuals who have learnt to develop apt survival skills. Street children actively build connections and friendships in order to earn a living for themselves and at times for their families.
It is important to understand that street children should be able to exercise their right to participate and to be heard, as specified by Article 12 under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Otherwise, policies created for their own benefit may end up being a less effective use of resources.
Research suggests that children forcefully removed from the streets will eventually return. They are used to practicing their independence, and are often distrustful of law enforcement agencies, as they or their families may have in the past faced harassment from the authorities as evidenced by the UNICEF Street Children Evaluation Report[1]. In addition, they may lack appropriate support in facilities set up for their own protection and may exhibit behavioural issues that present challenges for staff without adequate training.
While a large majority of street children are indeed boys, there are a number of girls who work and live on the streets as well. At least 10 percent of street-connected children around the world are girls. Gender matters, and risks for girls and boys can differ.[2] Reports by the Consortium for Street Children have stated that “Girls experience high levels of violence on the streets, including verbal abuse and physical and sexual assaults”[3].
Poverty and financial constraints are the primary “push factors” for children to seek income generation activities on the streets. This can mean that parents face difficult choices, and often have to choose between schooling and work for their children. This does not mean that parents do not care or have their children’s best interests at heart, or would not respond positively to viable alternative options. According to the UN General Comment No. 21 on children in street situations, it is important to “help parents or caregivers to secure, within their abilities and financial capacities and with respect for the evolving capacities of the child, the living conditions necessary for the child’s optimal development”.[4]
Cities for Children takes a rights-based approach towards children and communities in urban poverty, by which we hold certain economic, cultural and social rights to be inalienable for all. We believe that every child has the right to a childhood – the right to read, to play and to feel safe. In order to provide these rights, we have a duty to understand and address the realities faced by street-connected children, and design solutions that work for all.
[1] UNICEF Street Children Evaluation Report: https://www.unicef.org/evaldatabase/files/CP_Street_Children_Evaluation_Report_Final.pdf
[2] Consortium for Street Children: https://www.streetchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/CSC_Myth-Busters_FINAL1.pdf
[3] Consortium for Street Children: https://www.streetchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/CSC_Myth-Busters_FINAL1.pdf
[4] General UN Comment No 21: https://www.streetchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/gravity_forms/1-07fc61ac163e50acc82d83eee9ebb5c2/2017/07/General-Comment-No.-21-2017-on-children-in-street-situations.pdf