STREET

CHILDREN
ACCORDING TO UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S
EMERGENCY FUND (UNICEF) THE MOST COMMON DEFINITION OF A
STREET CHILD IS “ANY GIRL OR BOY WHO HAS NOT REACHED
ADULTHOOD, FOR WHOM THE STREET (IN THE BROADEST SENSE OF
THE WORD, INCLUDING UNOCCUPIED DWELLINGS, WASTELAND,
ETC.) HAS BECOME HER OR HIS HABITUAL ABODE AND/OR SOURCES
OF LIVELIHOOD, AND WHO IS INADEQUATELY PROTECTED,
SUPERVISED OR DIRECTED BY RESPONSIBLE ADULTS (P 90).”
THE EPIDEMIC OF
STREET CHILDREN IS A
GLOBAL ISSUE • Poverty, violence, lack of
family support, and hunger
• Global urbanization is are some of the main
attributed to growing reasons children choose to
numbers of homeless move to the street
children • Street children are
• Many children leave their typically between the ages
homes in smaller towns to of 6 and 17 years old and
work in larger cities live without adult support

• Estimations on how many • Africa, Asia and Latin

children are living on the America have the highest
street is between 10 number of street children
million and 100 million • Almost all countries have
globally children who are homeless
• Street children move and living in the streets
frequently and are often
reluctant of adults so
information on the children
is limited
GROUPING

UNICEF has defined three types of

street children: Street-Living, Street-
Working, and Street-Family.
1 •Street-Living

2 •Street-Working

3 •Street-Family
Characteristic of Street Children
1. Street children face difficulties in providing themselves with
good sources of food, clean drinking water, health care
services, toilets and bath facilities, and adequate shelter.

2. They also suffer from absence of parental protection and

security due to the missing connection with their families.

3. In addition, there is a lack of any kind of moral and emotional

support (Lugalla and Mbwambo, 1999).
4. The average age at which street children start living on the
streets is between 9 and 12 years old.

5. They keep living on the streets until they reach the age of 15 to
16. When they became older they start to look for stable jobs
with better wages (Rizzini et al., 1994).
EFFECTS ON CHILDREN
FROM LIVING IN THE
STREET
Lost their time
Negative
to study and
Judgement
play

vulnerable to
negativity neglected
(association)

Bleak future
CAUSES OF STREET
CHILDREN
From research results of Hening Budiyawati (in Odi
Shalahudin, 2000: 11) states that the factors that cause
children to go to the streets based on reason and the
narrative they are due to:

1) Violence in the family

2) Encouragement family
3) Want free
4) Want to have your own money
5) The influence of friends
GOVERNMENTS
REACTIONS TO STREET
CHILDREN
Assesment in cooperation with various
community agencies.

Government also has provided more than 400

shelters that are useful to accommodate street
children in Indonesia.
Ministry of Social Affairs
is preparing a budget of
Rp 184 billion for the
handling of 140,000
street children in 2010. Perform a variety of co-
operation with other
social institutions such as
Save the Children.
BASIC OF LAW OF
STREET CHILDREN
CONCLUSION
Street children is a term for children experiencing
homelessness who live on the streets of a city.
Homeless youth are often called street kids and
street youth; the definition of street children is
contested, but many practitioners and
policymakers use UNICEF’s concept of boys and
girls, aged under eighteen years, for whom "the
street" (including unoccupied dwellings and
wasteland) has become home and/or their source
of livelihood, and who are inadequately protected
or supervised.
ADVICE

Suggestions for People

There needs to be awareness of the public to not
get used to give some money to street children.
Because this condition is what makes street
children comfortable to live and make a living on
the streets. If people want to contribute or charity
can be through shelters, charity or nursing home
up bringing.
STREET CHILDREN