Many street children in Latin America, who either live or work in the streets of developing countries, are impoverished.Rizzini I and Lusk M, 1995 Although most are still in contact with their families, almost all street children spend a significant portion of their days working on the streets for money.Aptekar, L 1994 As the population of street children in Latin America has grown, public opinion of street children has decreased, putting them at risk for victimization and abuse by strangers and public officials.Tacon, P 1982 Many non-government organizations have begun rehabilitation and outreach programs to treat the growing population of street children.Rizzini, I 1996
Definition Street children in Latin America generally fall into two categories: home-based and street-based. Children “on the streets” are home-based; they work on the street during the day but have homes and families that they return to at night. Children “of the street” are street-based; they spend all of their time on the streets and do not have homes or contact with their families.Ennew, J 1989 In Latin America, street children are commonplace, everyday presences. They are street vendors, street workers, and street entertainers, as well as beggars and thieves.Oritz de Carrizosa, S. and Poertner, J 1992 Although street children may occasionally prostitute themselves, child prostitutes and victims of human trafficking are not generally considered street children. There is no clear consensus on how many street children exist in Latin America, mainly because of the difficulties in identifying and defining street children. Some studies claim that as many as 45% of children in Latin America are street children, 75–90% of whom are home-based. Number estimates of street children in Latin America range from 8 million to 40–50 million.
General characteristics These children are usually indigenous boys between the ages of 10 and 15. Because girls typically assist in household chores, they are less likely to work on the streets. Most street children grow up without significant familial support and little to no education.
Almost all street children work. Some are self-employed: they offer services such as car cleaning, car guarding, tour guiding, and shoe shining. Some are employed by market traders to sell goods such as fruit, candy, and newspapers. Others scavenge for items and food to sell, use, or eat.Scanlon, T 1998 Most female street children and some male home-based street children work on the streets with their parents or siblings, selling food and candy. Street-based street children are more likely to engage in illegal activities such as shoplifting, stealing, and selling drugs.Lusk M, Peralta F and Vest G 1989 Home-based street children may attend school during the day and work on the streets in the afternoon and evenings, or they may not attend school and spend most of their day either on the streets or helping with household tasks. Street-based children are less likely to attend school than home-based.
Causes The primary cause of street children is poverty. Almost all Latin American street children work on the streets, either to support themselves or to support their families. While street children in the United States are often from neglectful or abusive families, street children in Latin America are often from impoverished families that cannot afford to support them. They are not runaways or discontent with their lives. Instead, they are forced on the street due to economic necessities.
The process of becoming a street child Home-based street children can emerge when families in desperate economic situations send their children to seek work on the streets. Children may first accompany their parents or older siblings on their street jobs, and then transition to their own jobs. As children spend increasing amounts of time on the streets, engaging in street work and activities, they become more independent and see their families less and less. Eventually they may become completely estranged from their families, thus becoming street-based street children. Other times, the switch to a street-based street child is more abrupt: some children are cast onto the streets, losing complete contact with their families, due to family issues such as the death of a parent. As street-based street children, these youth must provide for their own basic necessities such as food, water, clothing, and shelter. Many of these street children are also migrants. With or without their families, they travel from rural areas to urban cities in search of work. Some children leave their homes with the intention of reaching USA. Yet when they arrive in the cities, they discover that their opportunities are limited to street work.Collymore, Yvette 2002 In recent years, natural disasters such as Hurricane Mitch and the earthquake in Haiti have dramatically increased the population of families in poverty and therefore the number of migrant families and children.Velasquez, Manuel 2011
Besides low economic status, studies have shown that larger populations of street children emerge when there is insufficient housing, inadequate government support and assistance for those in poverty, a high birth rate, and a high incidence of rural-to-urban migration.Barker G and Knaul F, 1991 This is especially prevalent in Honduras, where poverty drives poor families to seek work in cities. Once in cities, these same families feel pressured to have more children to increase their labor assets because of the large working street child population. Some visitors have reported that Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, is overflowing with street children.Wright, Jame D 1993 Likewise, in Brazil, urban street children are generally males originally from rural, economically disadvantaged families that work in agriculture.Gustafsson-Wright E and Pyne H, 2002 However, although an overarching reason for many street children in Latin America is poverty, different regions have different vulnerability factors as well. In La Paz, Bolivia, one study that surveyed 124 children "of the street" reported five primary reasons for leaving home: 40% said physical abuse, 18% said death of a parent, 16% said being abandoned, 13% said mental abuse, and 7% said poverty.Huang CC, et al., 2004 Studies in Mexico also show that parental neglect, physical abuse, and abandonment increase children's vulnerabilities. Living in Mexican urban slums, called colonias marginales, also places these children at risk for becoming street children because they often lack economic stability, educational opportunities, public services, social infrastructure.Ferguson, 2002
Vulnerabilities Once children shift into children of the street or children on the street, their vulnerabilities increase. They have decreased access to housing, education, parental or adult support and protection. In Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, where child welfare programs are severely lacking, children of the streets reportedly have no aspirations because their opportunities to reenter their communities as contributing members of societies are nonexistent. Street children in Latin America are more likely to have health-related issues due to drug and alcohol usage, living in polluted environments, fighting with other street children and police, and unprotected sexual intercourse. Street children are especially vulnerable and become victims of sexual exploitation. Most street children spend their time in overcrowded, unsanitary areas which increases their risk of infection and disease. Many are exposed to hazardous working conditions that increase their likelihood of being attacked, mugged, and sexually harassed. In Honduras, one study revealed that 59% of children on the street eat three meals a day, 33% eat two meals, 8% eat one meal. For children of the street, 6% eat three meals a day. The same study determined that the leading causes of death among street children are health-related; respiratory infections, skin ailments, physical trauma, and dental issues are among the most common health concerns that result in death when untreated for street children. Although these conditions and diseases are treatable, many street children do not have access to medical care.
Issues surrounding street children
Groups Many street-based children form peer support groups (called turmas in Brazil) for physical protection from assaults and for emotional support. Groups are usually made up of street-based children; home-based children without parental supervision on the streets may have friends that protect them, but they are usually not part of a specific peer support group. Although they are not technically “gangs” with hierarchies and leaders, these groups often have strict rules, punishments, and initiation ceremonies.Campos R, et al. 1994 Consequently, peer groups often influence members to engage in illegal drug usage, drug dealing, and theft.Lalor, K 1999
Peer groups provide street children with a sense of identity. Although groups usually form firstly for physical protection, their secondary function of providing camaraderie and love is often just as significant for the mental health and stability of street children. These peer groups are also outlets for sexual behavior; sexual relationships with friends within peer groups reinforce bonds between group members, but sex and rape can also be used as a punishment for rule breakers.Raffaelli, M 1999 Most of these sexual acts are unprotected, increasing the risk and spread of STDs such as HIV among street children.Inciardi, J 1998
Drugs Some of the prevalent drugs among street children are everyday inhalants (i.e. paint, glue), marijuana, cough syrup, substituted amphetamines, cocaine, and hallucinogenic teas. In Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru, coca paste is a popular drug for sale and use among street children. Though coca paste is a precursor to cocaine made from coca leaves, studies have shown that it is more dangerous, as it contains toxic processing chemicals such as kerosene, sulfuric acid, and methanol, which are removed from cocaine.De Oliveira W, Balzerman M, Pellet L 1992 Glue is another frequently used and dangerous drug. In Honduras and Guatemala, children sniff Resistol, a toluene-based glue. Although toluene produces a desirable high, it is also a neurotoxin. Prolonged exposure leads to irreversible nerve damage, muscle deterioration, loss of brain function, dysfunctional kidneys and livers, and diminished ability to see and hear. Despite public outcry and pressure to change, the company that produces Resistol, H. B. Fuller, has generally denied its role in enabling the destructive behaviors of street children. They have replaced toluene with cyclohexene, another neurotoxin that produces the same high and has the same side effects.
More street-based children engage in drug usage than home-based, and many street-based children are dependent on drugs. Street children take drugs for a variety of reasons: to allay hunger; to deal with loneliness, fear, and despair; to feel warm in the cold; and to cope with prostitution and theft. Although many sociologists report mentally stable street children, others suggest that drugs may affect street children's cognitive functions and perceptions. Drugs may also increase their violent and sexual inclinations.
Victimization and arrest