State of the World's Street Children: Research
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Consortium for Street Children State of the World’s Street Children: Research brings The Oasis Centre together a comprehensive collection of literature about State of the World’s 75 Westminster Bridge Road street children from the last decade. It draws on over London SE1 7HS Tel: +44 (0)20 7921 4560 400 pieces of research, determining where advances have been made in the knowledge about this often Street Children: Research over-looked group and dispelling some unfounded Registered in England and Wales assumptions. It also identifies where the gaps are Sarah Thomas de Benítez Charity No. 1046579 in current knowledge to reveal areas where further Company No. 03040697 exploration is needed. The book is aimed at scholars, www.streetchildren.org.uk researchers, practitioners, NGO’s and anyone with an interest in street children. Street Children Series 2 ISBN 978-0-9547886-6-7 9 780954 788667 State of the World’s Street Children: Research Sarah Thomas de Benítez Street Children Series 2 First published in Great Britain in 2011 by Consortium for Street Children The Oasis Centre 75 Westminster Bridge Road London SE1 7HS ISBN: 978-0-9547886-6-7 State of the World’s Street Children: Violence, the first report in the series, is available for download from the Consortium for Street Children website (www.streetchildren.org.uk). A hardcopy can be ordered by contacting the Consortium for Street Children by e-mail ([email protected]). Cover Photographer Marcus Lyon Report Design The Policy Press (www.policypress.co.uk) Printed in the UK by Hobbs, Southampton Parts of this publication may be copied for use in research, advocacy and education, providing the source is acknowledged. This publication may not be reproduced for other purposes without the prior permission of the Consortium for Street Children. ii STATE OF THE WORLD’S STREET CHILDREN REPORT: RESEARCH Acknowledgements Principal Author Sarah Thomas de Benítez Working Group Members Chair: Duncan Ross – Director – StreetInvest Iain Byrne – Senior Lawyer, Economic and Social Rights – The International Centre for the Legal Protection of Human Rights Corinne Davey – Senior Consultant and Director – Global Child Protection Services Felix Holman – Director of Programmes – StreetInvest Gareth A. Jones – Reader – London School of Economics and Political Science Aaron Oxley – Executive Director – Results UK David Schofield – Group Head of Corporate Responsibility – Aviva PLC Lorraine van Blerk – Senior Lecturer – Dundee University David Walker – Research Officer/Programme Officer – Overseas Development Institute Thanks also to the following for input received at different points in the research, including in preparatory discussions which helped shape the Mapping & Gapping research and led to publication of this report: • The CSC network especially those who attended the Aviva-CSC Impact Series research workshops: Amber Wilson De Vries (ICT), Ana Matos (ABC Trust), Andy McCullough (Railway Children), Anna- mai Estrella (Jubilee Action), Bethan Williams (Children in Crisis), Bill Bell (Save the Children), Birte Snilstveit (3ie), Charlotte Murray (Aviva), Chris Hands (Moroccan Children’s Trust), Chris Rose (Amos Trust), David Maidment (Railway Children), David Schofield (Aviva), Diarmuid O’Neill (Retrak), Duncan Dyason (Street Kids Direct), Duncan Ross (StreetInvest), Francesca D’Emidio (Street Kids International), Gordon Couch (SSSK), Juliano Fiori (ABC Trust), Kavita Prasad (ICT), Layla Serroukh (Walou), Manuela Thomae (Canterbury Christ Church University), Maryame Tribak (Walou), Nicole Howards (Railway Children), Nigel Edward-Few (Jubilee Action), Terina Keene (Railway Children), Tom Dannatt (Street Child of Sierra Leone), Tricia Young (Child-to-Child Trust) • Researchers Emilie Smeaton, Ruth Payne, Corinne Davey and Patricia Ray for their collaboration and input from the policy literature • Vicky Kiosse and David Otley from Lancaster University, Sam McCready from Ulster University • Lucy Brealey, Comic Relief and Jacquie Irvine, Good Values • Sally Shire, Louise Meincke, Leonora Borg, Laura Burnell, Kate Bretherton, Helen Dempsey, Anna Robin and Natalie Turgut for their support from CSC Special thanks to Aviva PLC for funding the research phase of this project. A complementary 2011 report “Still on the street - still short of rights”, was commissioned and published by Plan International, supported by Consortium for Street Children and written by Global Child Protection Services (GCPS). The report focuses on street-involved children and how their issues are currently addressed within legislative and policy frameworks. It highlights programmatic initiatives being implemented by international and local NGOs as well as providing suggestions for improved practice. Available at: http://plan-international.org/about-plan/resources/publications/protection/still- on-the-street-still-short-of-rights and http://www.gcps.org.uk/. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii Photography Marcus Lyon is a British artist and social entrepreneur. His career began as a photographer for Amnesty International, working on commissions concerning street children in Latin America, Africa and Asia. He has a significant reputation as an exhibition and portraiture artist and has photographed many public figures including Tony Blair, Michael Gambon and the Queen. His work has been exhibited globally in over 90 shows including the Saatchi Gallery. Marcus has been Chair of the Consortium for Street Children since 2008. He is an ambassador for Photovoice and Home Start. All Marcus’ reportage work is undertaken on a pro-bono basis. Website: www.marcuslyon.com iv STATE OF THE WORLD’S STREET CHILDREN REPORT: RESEARCH Contents Acknowledgements iii Foreword vi Executive Summary viii Introduction 1 Part 1 Understanding Street Children: Old Myths and New Realities 3 Section 1.1 Numbers 3 Section 1.2 Definitions 7 Section 1.3 Characteristics 10 Section 1.4 Voices from the Streets 15 Gaps in the Research Part 1 20 Part 2 Street Children and Everday Lives – The Wider Picture 21 Section 2.1 Relationships 21 Section 2.2 Migration and Mobility 25 Section 2.3 Experiences on the Streets 28 Section 2.4 Ageing into Youth 33 Gaps in the Research Part 2 36 Part 3 Policies and Interventions for Street Children 37 Section 3.1 Policies 37 Section 3.2 Interventions and Models of Care 43 Gaps in the Research Part 3 52 Part 4 Street Children’s Rights, Laws, Budgets and Funding 53 Section 4.1 Laws and Enforcement 53 Section 4.2 Economics, Budgets and Funding 58 Gaps in the Research Part 4 62 Conclusions and Recommendations 63 References 69 TABLE OF CONTENTS v Foreword State of the World’s Street Children: Research, is the second in a series of publications commissioned by the Consortium for Street Children (CSC), following our 2007 report State of the World’s Street Children: Violence. CSC is the leading international network dedicated to realising the rights of street children. We are continually expanding and currently have 60 member organisations working across 130 countries who we support through focusing our efforts on advocacy, research, capacity building and sharing best practice. Our network members have pioneered new ways of working with street children and are constantly seeking to improve their models of care. At the same time, researchers have been gathering new information about street-connectedness and improving the participatory nature of research methods with street children. But it has become clear in recent years that much of the available research about street children is not easily accessible, has not been used to inform service interventions or government policies as often as it could, and development of research about street children has been fragmented. This report addresses these problems head-on: bringing together and making easily available to practitioners and researchers alike a comprehensive collection of street children literature from the last decade. It draws on more than 400 pieces of research written by scholars, development practitioners and NGOs working with street children. It also dispels some unfounded assumptions about street children and determines where advances have been made in our knowledge about them. In so doing, gaps in our current knowledge have been identified, revealing areas for further exploration. A number of recommendations are proposed throughout the report, which we hope everyone who reads it can be instrumental in implementing. Scholars, researchers and NGOs need to become more aware of each other’s research and collaborate more closely, drawing on the breadth of existing research to inform their work. While street children’s experiences are diverse and personal, there are striking commonalities between them and, as such, comparative research is needed across a number of areas, including child protection systems – something CSC is already exploring. It is also clear that more needs to be made of street children’s own accounts in shaping policy design, developing national programmes and improving local interventions. When it comes to bringing together research on street children, this report is just a first step. One of the report’s main recommendations is to create a dedicated, sustainable resource, where existing research literature (initially in English but vi STATE OF THE WORLD’S STREET CHILDREN REPORT: RESEARCH hopefully widening to include other languages) can be accessed by all those who have an interest – a ‘street connections’ library as it were. CSC is committed to making this a reality, aiming