Memorandum submitted by the Consortium
for Street Children
INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Consortium for Street Children (CSC)
is the only worldwide network that works collectively to promote
the rights and well-being of street children on a global scale.
With the collective voice of over 55 organisations working internationally,
CSC aims to end the discrimination and abuse that prevents street
children from exercising the rights granted to them under the
Convention on the Rights of the Child. CSC aims to make positive
systematic and sustainable changes to the lives of street children
across the world. Our main areas of focus are HIV/AIDS, Violence,
Child Labour. Action oriented and committed to tackling the root
causes behind the growing phenomenon of street children, CSC coordinates
and supports its members to make a difference in these focus areas
through its integrated programmes: Advocacy, Organisation Development,
and Action Research.
1.2 CSC published State of the World's
Street Children: Violence report last year, and is currently
planning to research and publish State of the World's Street
Children: HIV/AIDS report.
1.3 CSC's submission to the International
Development Committee's enquiry focuses on the impact DfID's strategy
will have on the most vulnerable children living and working on
the streets, and supplements the UK Consortium on AIDS and International
Development's submission, of which CSC is a member of their Children
Affected By AIDS (CABA) working group.
STREET CHILDREN
2.1 The term "street children"
is hotly debated. Some say it is negative—that it labels
and stigmatises children. Others say it gives them an identity
and a sense of belonging. It can include a very wide range of
children who are homeless; work on the streets but sleep at home;
either do or do not have family contact; work in open-air markets;
live on the streets with their families; live in day or night
shelters; spend a lot of time in institutions (eg prison). The
term "street children" is used because it is short and
widely understood. However, we must acknowledge the problems and
wherever possible we should ask the children what they think themselves.
In reality, street children defy such convenient generalisations
because each child is unique.
2.2 HIV/AIDS are creating many more street
children, many of them left orphaned by the epidemic. An NGO in
Cambodia has seen a 45% increase in the numbers of children arriving
at their centre who stated HIV/AIDS as the reason for them being
on the street. Once on the street the children are then themselves
extremely vulnerable to HIV/AIDS.
2.3 Street children live transitory lifestyles,
unsupervised by adults, and have little, if any, access to health,
education or social services. As a result of their neglect, they
are exposed to a great variety of diseases and abuses, including
sexual abuse, prostitution and intravenous drug use, and are more
likely to be sexually active at a younger age. Street children
are unlikely to use testing, counselling or treatment services,
as access often depends on consent from a parent or guardian,
and a stable, supportive home life. Prevention services are often
focused on adults and children living in relatively stable families.
Other barriers to accessing health services include not having
correct documentation, the experience of stigma and discrimination,
lack of education, and the design of programmes. For example the
Star of St. Petersburg, an NGO working with street children in
Russia, reported that of 1,210 street children tested for HIV
at their clinic in 2004-05 67.12% tested positive. All had sought
help from Government run health clinics—all had been turned
away due to lack of documentation and stigma. In 2005 Child Welfare
Scheme, an NGO working in Nepal, carried out a survey of the knowledge,
attitudes, practices and beliefs of HIV/AIDS among street-based
children of Kathmandu and Pokhara. The survey concluded that the
majority of these children had only very limited access to sexual
and reproductive health education because of their unique circumstances.
2.4 Due to the complex and varied circumstances
of children living and working on the street, it is very difficult
to estimate the number of street children that exist worldwide.
In 1989, UNICEF estimated that 100 million children were growing
up on urban streets around the world, and in its 2005 report it
stated that the figure runs into tens of millions across the world,
but recognised the difficulty in quantifying the precise number.
It further noted that it thought it likely that the number of
street children was increasing. Despite the difficulties of estimating
a precise figure, it is an undeniable fact that street children
are particularly vulnerable group with complex characteristics
and specific needs.
2.5 It is often assumed that street children's
unique and complex needs will be met through programmes designed
for "Orphans and Vulnerable Children" (OVC) and "Children
Affected By AIDS" (CABA). Several of our members working
in the field directly with street children affected by HIV/AIDS
report this not to be the case. These terms very often mask the
fact that children living or working on the street seem catered
for, when in fact they are chronically neglected. Care for OVC
often evolves from home-based care programmes which by their very
nature are poorly suited to reach children living and working
on the streets. CSC is therefore challenging the notion that street
children's needs are met by programmes designed for OVC and CABA.
Street children require tailored programmes designed to meet their
specific needs and unique characteristics.
CSC RECOMMENDATIONS
3.1 One of the priorities in DfID's new
HIV/AIDS strategy is to spend £200 million to support social
protection programmes over the next three years in eight African
countries. The programmes are said to provide effective and predictable
support for the most vulnerable households, including those with
children affected by AIDS. CSC believes it is vital that a broad
understanding of social protection is adopted and enforced, one
which focuses not only on social transfers (cash, food etc) to
vulnerable households, but also on a range of support services
and policies that focus on family support, child protection, access
to affordable health care and education—only then will the
most overlooked and vulnerable children benefit. DfID's strategy
does refer to this in passing, but it is CSC's conviction that
a broad notion of social protection should play a fundamental
part in the implementation of the strategy.
3.2 CSC therefore recommends that as part
of its Monitoring and Evaluation DfID adopt the following indicators:
3.3 DfID Field Offices report annually on
activities related to street children in particular, thereby avoiding
the problem of the assumption that street children benefit from
OVC and CABA programmes. However, it is crucial that in order
for DfID's Field Offices to carry out this activity, DfID employees
must be properly trained in street children and HIV/AIDS issues.
3.4 DfID undertake an evaluation of their
eight country social protection programme in two to three years,
which includes a thorough analysis of the impact of social protection
programmes on vulnerable children, including street children.
3.5 In order to ensure that street children
benefit from HIV/AIDS prevention and education services it is
crucial that programmes are specifically designed to reach those
children and young people out of school. CSC therefore recommends
that DfID adopt an indicator which measures the number of national
governments that have put in place national HIV prevention programmes
for out of school youth in most or all districts in need.
3.6 Due to the problems of measuring the
number of street children affected by HIV/AIDS, CSC recommends
that DfID contracts a baseline study in five countries looking
at what services and resources are already available to street
children and identify key gaps and maps the prevalence of HIV
among street children. CSC is ideally placed to carry out such
a study.
3.7 It is CSC's conviction that, because
of the issues mentioned above with regards to street children
and HIV/AIDS, DfID must provide long-term funding and support
to organisations working specifically to deliver HIV/AIDS prevention,
health and education services to street children.
October 2008
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