Street Children In India

The reality of the street child is the naked and vicious face of poverty, sickness and exploitation. The tragedy is, that those who bear it are themselves innocent, lonely and frightened young children.
Street Children are those unfortunate children who basically:

1. Have only intermittent contact with parents or family (usually mother or sisters) but live most of the time with other street children in the city streets, or are on the move. {There are numerous reasons for a child to leave home}
2. Have been literally abandoned by their parents/relatives, found themselves on the street from the beginning because of family problems, or have chosen to leave home due to some kind of constant abuse.
3. Those who have run away from home can further be separated into two categories: Those who have an unpleasant or traumatic home environment. They experience family problems they are unable to solve: i.e., alcoholism, child abuse, ill treatment by stepparents, unemployment and poverty. Their tolerance level has been far exceeded, leading to the drastic decision to leave their family. Those who have run away from home, who wanted to study/work but were not allowed and came to experience the exciting experiences of city life, glamorized by magazines and movies.

Religion of street children in India varies greatly according to area, but, in general, approximately 70% are Hindu, 18% are Muslim, Christian and other. Percentage of Hindu children is as high as 82% in Hyderabad, Indore & Bangalore. (Almost 50% of Hindu children belong to scheduled caste or tribes.) 82.7% of street children are boys. Girls are more difficult to trace but they are, by far, the most vulnerable.

WORK CONDITIONS

Most street children find themselves some work, even though they may not be steady and lose jobs regularly. Many think of rag picking as a "job". A study in 1989 shows that 39.3% working children are paid inadequately, and 34% complain of being forced to overwork. Many children are lured into bonded work or "work-camps" that they are unable to escape from, due to unscrupulous and cruel proprietors or middlemen.

DESIRE TO BE SECURE

A recent study in Madras shows that many street children (45.6%) would like to live in a secure place, while 71% are very eager to change their present life. 63% of children have an ambition to do something meaningful in their future. The vast majority of them have a survival instinct and the tenacity that helps them survive the day to day trials of street life. That does not, however, provide them a future

AGE OF CHILDREN

The average age of street children is:
33% 6-10yrs
40% 11-15yrs
27% 16yrs +

HEALTH CONDITIONS

The health condition of street children is generally poor. Many suffer from chronic diseases like TB, leprosy, typhoid, malaria, jaundice and liver/kidney disorders. Venereal disease is rampant among older ones (14yrs+). Scabies, gangrene, broken limbs and epilepsy are common. HIV & AIDS cases are now widely seen. Most street children are exposed to dirt, smoke and other environmental hazards.
They are constantly exposed to intense sun, rain and cold.

Though there are supposed to be "free" Government / Municipal Hospitals in all cities, street children do not have easy access to them due the need to pay bribes to enter, or the indifferent or hostile treatment meted out to them by the staff. Bangalore, Vijayawada and Hyderabad report extreme conditions in this regard.

STREET CHILD ACTIVITIES IN INDIA

Street children learn to cope with life on the streets very quickly. They learn to live off the street. The following is a list of activities and occupations undertaken by street children in India to earn a living:

Collecting and selling waste paper, plastic, scrap metal etc.
Cleaning cars and two-wheelers,
Selling water, sweets, biscuits, clothes etc.
Selling newspapers and flowers on streets
Making and selling flower garlands
Begging, pimping, pick pocketing, stealing
Working in roadside stalls or repair shops
Coolie work or working in small hotels (kitchens etc)

ARBITRARY DETENTION, ARREST AND IMPRISONMENT

Street children are constantly arrested, locked up, tortured and abused in all ways because there is none to take responsibility for them. They live in fear of arrest and long detainment. They have no faith in the police or the judicial system. They disrespect the legal authorities because they have rarely experienced any kindness or understanding from anyone at that level. THE RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS For street children, this aspect is conspicuous by its absence, and totally ignored by the relevant authorities. Street children are arrested, locked up, sent to remand, runaway, are arrested again beaten locked up and so on and so forth without ever being offered a word of legal advice, much less a lawyer, or a government counsellor. They are sent to lockups, and sometimes jails, for days together without even a hearing. The remand homes sometimes make an effort to trace the parents, but usually the parents do not come for one reason or another, usually poverty. So the child grows up in an environment of cruelty & abuse, physical, mental and sexual and if he/she does not have the wits to escape, emerges a hardened criminal with total contempt for society in all its aspects when they are 18yrs old. The Municipal Corporations are, however, showing some interest in the plight of street children. Studies show that there are more small programs for street children in the country today than ever before and that some are either located in Municipal Buildings or assisted by the Local Body. i.e. Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Chennai etc. The Juvenile Justice Act 1986 is now defunct since the U.N. C.R.C., and India’s ratification of the same. The new J.J.Act is better but needs serious discussion.

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