street children

A detail study at life on the streets childrenin India

Chapter 1- Preface

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 25, par. 1:“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health andwell-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housingand medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security inthe event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”In Indian constitution:

Article 21

- Protection of Life and Personal Liberty: No person shall bedeprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedureestablished by law. Right to Life means the right to lead meaningful,complete and dignified life.

Article 47-

Right to nutrition and standard of living and improved publichealthThe Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948:

Article 25

- Right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well being of himself and of his family

Runaway (dependent) in general

Runaway, he is a minor or a person under a random age depending upon the local jurisdiction who has left the home of his or her parent or legal guardian without permission or has been thrown out by his or her parent and is considered by the localauthorities to lack the capacity to live under his or her own deal.

In North America, runaway children or youth are widely regarded as a chronic andserious social problem. It is estimated that each year there are between 1.3 and 1.5million runaway and homeless youth in the United States

1

. This problem also exists in theUnited Kingdom, with runaway youths often congregating inLondon. Studies suggest that the primary cause of youth homelessness isfamily dysfunctionin theform of parental neglect, physical or sexual abuse, family substance abuse, and familyviolence

2

.Family conflict can also be caused by sudden and or drastic changes in thefamily composition (i.e. a divorce, re-marriage, death of a parent), parental substanceabuse, youth's substance abuse, and youth's sexual activity. According to The HomelessHub

3

,"they have difficulty obtaining affordable housing (landlords being reluctant to rentto a 16 year old), and because most are drop-outs, they have difficulty competingsuccessfully in the job market".A related term is used for runaways is "throwaway youth". Normally a throwaway youthor child is someone who has been "locked out" or forced to leave home by his/her parentsor caregivers. However, the distinction between runaways and throwaways is not clear asin many cases it depends on who provides the information. When the parents are askedthey say the youth ran away, while the youth would say he or she was forced to leave,either directly or by circumstances. In most cases, youth run away because the situation athome is seen as unbearable and not because they are looking for excitement or fun.Running away from home is considered a crime in some jurisdictions, but it is usually astatus offensepunished with probation, or not punished at all.

4

Giving aid or assistance toa runaway instead of turning them into the police is a more serious crime called"harboring a runaway", and is typically amisdemeanor .

5

Present situation of the runaway station children

1

Coco & Courtney,1998; Cauce et al., 1994

2

Smollar, 1999; Robertson & Toro, 1998

3

See athttp://www.cga.ct.gov/2003/olrdata/kid/rpt/2003-R-0130.htm“Background on Status Offenders”

4

See athttp://law.onecle.com/illinois/720ilcs5/10-6.htmlIllinois Criminal Code of 1961 - 720 ILCS 5,Section 10-6

5

See athttp://www.ndaa.org/pdf/parental_kidnapping.pdf Criminal Parental Kidnapping

Despite the perils of station life, the children who have found a shaky home in MumbaiCentral may be the fortunate ones. Those who end up in one of Bombay's thousands of "pavement communities" (living on sidewalks, in parks, or in empty lots) are at higher risk for disease, starvation, and sexual abuse.In the stations, the boys are under the domain of the railway police. In the past, theRailway Protection Force had a mandate to clear stations of unaccompanied children. Theresult was all of them were perceived as criminals. That attitude began to change in thelate 1990s. A national 24-hour hot line for runaway children opened in 1996 and receives1,000 calls a day in Bombay alone from people who find runaways and lost children andcall to have them picked up and taken care of.In 2000, the government passed the Juvenile Justice Act, which outlines the rights of children and mandates the government to work with NGOs to address the problems of homeless children. Incidents of violence against the kids are now rare, and commuterswho see a child being beaten are more willing to interfere than before. Despite thechanges, serious threats to children remain, such as police taking bribes from brothelagents.The presence of NGOs does more than help the children. Although adolescent boys,some of whom work the trains in groups as pickpockets and necklace-snatchers, are still amajor problem, railway police say petty theft by younger children has declined in recentyears. The feeling among observers is that children who are looked after by someone areless desperate and more law-abiding.The police often deny the existence of juveniles making their permanent homes inrailway stations. But railway police routinely use station children to fetch tea, cleanstations, and do less pleasant tasks (Eg: On a recent afternoon at Bombay's Thane railwaystation, two officers ordered a group of station kids to remove from the tracks the body of a woman struck by a train a few minutes earlier).

Real Stories; of Amir at Mumbai Railway Station:

Category:	Research > Law
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Upload Date:	10/15/2009
Copyright:	Attribution Non-commercial
Tags:	street children street children (fewer)

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