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The reality of the street child is the vicious face of poverty, sickness and exploitation. The sad thing about this is, that those who bear it are innocent, lonely and frightened young children

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The reality of the street child is the vicious face of poverty, sickness and exploitation. The sad thing about this is, that those who bear it are innocent, lonely and frightened young children.

The phenomenon of street children has come into existence because of the interplay between a medley of factors such as industrialization, migration from rural to urban areas, poverty, a dearth of opportunities for education, broken families, cruelty and abuse, neglect, natural calamities, etc. All these have led to an escalation in the number of children running away from their homes or being left to fend for themselves. Some of the children have reported to have been displaced as a result of development projects, like the Subarnarekha Irrigation Project which began in 1982 with a World Bank loan of $127 million ( Public Interest Research Group, 1994) A 1992 UNICEF study of street children in Bombay observed that the large-scale migration of families from rural to urban areas has resulted in severe overcrowding, degrading work conditions, homelessness, deprivation of basic services and appalling living conditions in the city. Yet, to return to the village means starvation: to remain in the city means possible survival at least physically (D’Lima & Gosalia, 1992). D’Souza (2004) has tried to incorporate all the associated factors in the street children’s phenomenon in Mumbai. The diagram below illustrates the forces (macroscopic, mesoscopic and microscopic) that seem uncontrollable and which perpetuate and consequently produce street-living patterns in children.

Fig 1: The Street Child Phenomenon-An Inverted Reality
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimated in 2002 that there are more than 100 million children and youth who live and work on the streets in the developing world. The number of street children in India is difficult to estimate but UNICEF, on the basis of two studies on working children in Delhi in the late 1980s, estimated that 25 percent of the working children were street children (UNICEF, 1988). The total number of working children in urban India was estimated at 44 million by the Operation Research Group-Baroda in 1983. Thus, as per UNICEF’s calculations currently there are approximately 11 million street children in India (considering that the population of India increases by eighteen to twenty million people per year, the number of street children in India in 2007 would be significantly higher than twenty-five million). However, the organization itself considers this estimation to be conservative in the context of growing number of street children in the metropolitan cities of India (Phllips WSK, 1994). In India, a large concentration of street children is seen in the six metropolitan cities of Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Kanpur, Bangalore and Hyderabad. In 1996, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that there were at least eighteen million street children in urban

India. India is thought to have the largest population of street children in the world and this figure expected to increase as the country’s population escalates. Agrawal (1999) estimated that India has nearly 20 million street children (approximately 7% of the child population). According to the UNDP (1993) India has the largest population of street children in the world. It is estimated that there are 100,000 to 125,000 street children each in Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi, with 45,000 in Bangalore.

The typical age of a street child varies from place to place. As per the WHO, in developing countries children as young as eight live completely on their own, whereas in developed countries, street children are usually over the age of twelve.
Street children are not usually counted, nor subject to census; so their exact numbers are not known (West A, 2003). The other challenges lie with varied definitions among government policies with regards to definition of “child” and also among civil society organisations regarding what constitutes a “street child” (whether to include children living with parents but are on streets, homeless children and so on). Ennew (1994) states categorically: “Neither UNICEF nor the ILO can give reliable or verifiable figures for the number of working children worldwide, including street children. A basic reason for the lack of accurate figures is that no one can agree on definitions. [Numbers] are often cited at the beginning of reports and descriptions of street and working children, but they have no validity or basis in fact”. In India, surveys conducted by government such as census surveys have bypassed the street children. Few attempts have been made by various NGOs and social scientists which provide rough but conservative estimates. YUVA, Mumbai, in the past had attempted to conduct a headcount of the exact number of street children using the “tattoo technique” but there were issues of double counting since many street children used to rub off the “tattoo” and were counted again (P.C: Mr Santosh Damale, YUVA). In a city like Mumbai where the street children are based in various pockets such as railway platforms, near railway stations; temples and mosques, derelict buildings etc, there is need for a “Census” or a “Head-count” for the exact numbers. There needs a government support to conduct such a survey, since any government programmes and policies will be invariably based on the number of beneficiaries.
Classification of Street Children

Although the term “street children” passed into common use in the 1990s, the term was used in reference to urban centers in Europe as early as the 19th century. The meaning and definition of “street children” is contested among academics, policymakers, practitioners, politicians, and the general public. Individuals and groups have their own preferred definition. These different definitions are important for several reasons. For policymakers and practitioners, the meanings given to “street children” define their response in terms of the law, its implementation, and services provided. The United Nations has developed its own definition of street children: "any girl or boy . . . for whom the street in the widest sense of the word, including unoccupied dwellings, wasteland, and so on, has become his or her habitual abode and/or source of livelihood, and who is inadequately protected, supervised, or directed by responsible adults" (Inter-NGO, 1994) Keen (1989) has proposed the following definition: "A street child is regarded as one who has run away from home and is living on the streets apart from any adult supervision or care" (p. 11). Cosgrove (1990) has emphasized the degree of family involvement and the amount of deviant behavior: a street child is "any individual under the age of eighteen whose behavior is predominantly at variance with community norms, and whose primary support for his/her developmental needs is not a family or family substitute”. A recent report (Schurink W & Mathye M, 1993) by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) of South Africa has put forward the following definition: "A street child is any girl or boy who is under the age of eighteen and who has left his/her home environment part time or permanently (because of problems at home and/or in school, or to try to alleviate those problems) and who spends most of his/her time unsupervised on the street as part of a subculture of children who live an unprotected communal life and who depend on themselves and each other, and not on an adult, for the provision of physical and emotional needs, such as food, clothing, nurturance, direction and socialization".

It is not easy to define the category of street children, as not all street children are alike. The first globally accepted definition of street children was defined by UNICEF. Based on the relationship with its family, UNICEF (1988) distinguishes between three categories of street children, namely:
1. Children on the Street: Forming the largest category, these are largely working children who have homes; most return to their families at the end of the day.
2. Children of the Street: These children are a group who has chosen the street as their home and it is there that they seek shelter, livelihood, and companionship. They have occasional or rare contacts with their families.
3. Abandoned Children: These children have no contact with their families. They are entirely on their own, not only for material survival but also even for emotional and psychological support. They include orphans, runaways and lost or destitute children. Often these children are also referred to as "nowhere" children because they may not be traceable.
Aptekar (2004) points out that UNICEF’s definition does not explain the experiences that bring many children to the street today. For example, it does not include children who have been war or disaster victims, children with AIDS or who are orphaned because of AIDS, and many complex situations which force children to be on streets. He has identified three major problems with the UNICEF definition.
1) The use of the term on and of the street becomes confusing as many children frequently move between the street and their homes depending upon such practical factors as weather conditions, family dynamics, availability of friends on the street and comparative economic conditions of the home and the street.
2) Many children rather than being abandoned, leave home in a measured manner, initially staying away for a night or two, then step by step spending more time away from home. It is often observed that families of the street children possess a wide variety of competencies and children are gradually initiated to life on the street as a strategy to cope with extreme poverty.

3) The UNICEF definition does not contain gender specific information. Street boys and Street girls cannot be referred to by a common term as street children. The predominance of street boys worldwide and especially in developing countries is particularly important. Girls began street life much later than boys, usually not before 10 years of age. Street boys and street girls relate to their families of origin differently. Boys usually remain connected with their families and contribute to family income. The street girls in contrast have more difficult and distant relationship with their families of origin.

When we look at these three gaps identified by Aptekar, it is observed that most of these observations are applicable in cases of street children in Mumbai. In case of children moving between ‘of and on the street’, it becomes necessary for the children to move in some kind of shelter- either provided by the family or by the agency only during monsoon. After monsoon, for nearly 8 months, it is easily possible to survive on the streets and they keep on moving in and out of the shelter.
One realizes that the concept of street children is loosely defined by social workers, policymakers and child activists in India. It therefore becomes even more difficult to estimate their numbers and plan programs for them. A close look at the objectives and target groups covered by the street children’s organizations in Mumbai reveals that each organization defines street children according to their perception of needy and vulnerable children (Ferguson K M et al, 2005). Many of them do not differentiate among children with and without family support and contact; children of the families staying on the streets or pavements or in slums; or children who have left home to come to Mumbai from another part of India, or even from other bordering countries, such as Bangladesh. The fact that these children are staying on the streets, working there, or socializing with peers on the streets, makes them eligible for receiving services in most cases. It is worth noting that the children of all the three categories go through hardships of life and face some common problems like disturbed emotional relationship with the adult world, a negative self- image, social stigma, violence, exploitation and uncertain future.
There needs a definition of the street child in the context of Mumbai, since various government policies and programmes, with subsequent services provisions, will be planned keeping the definitional issues in mind. Various countries have attempted to define the “street child” depending on the contextual situation of the street children (See Box 1)

Box 1: Definitions or Categories of Street Children
In 1994, the National Children’s Committee in Mongolia organized a national conference on street children, involving representatives from Parliament, the Ministry of Science and Education, Juvenile Police Department, Juvenile Prison, the Aimag Centers for Children, as well as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Save the Children, United Kingdom (UK). The conference adopted three categories of street children:

i) children who work on the streets during the day, but who maintain links with the family and who usually return to their homes in the evening;

ii) children who have some contact with their families, but who spend most of their time on the streets, especially during warm seasons; and

iii) children who have lost contact with their families and live permanently on the street.

Accounts of street children in Mongolia, and especially by the external press, generally focus on children in the last category. These are the children who, because of Mongolia’s harsh climate, live or sleep underground, in tunnels and access points to urban heating systems (“manholes”), or in the entrances and basements of apartment buildings or other shelters. The health of such children is obviously at risk, given the lack of sanitation and access to water, as well as generally poor diets. Reports indicate that “There is a high risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases” or “the children survive through

marginal and illegal activities, stealing, begging, prostitution and doing odd jobs, and face violence, abuse and aggression from the police, from drunks” and also from their peers. The general public in Mongolia, however, would include all three categories as “street children.” (West A & Tungalag, 2002)

In Vietnam a notion of “real street children” pervades either academic and informal definitions or categorizations. In Ho Chi Minh City, the work of Tim Bond in the early 1990s (Bond T, 1999) and the tripartite categorization of street children that he devised, had enormous and lasting influence. The classification scheme is as follows:

Category A: children who have left home and family, or have no home or family, and who sleep on the street;

Category B: children who sleep on the street with their family or guardian; and

Category C: children who have a family or guardian and (generally) sleep at home.

These categories appear to have influenced most subsequent work in Viet Nam, including service provision, which often focuses on or otherwise targets one particular category of children. Commonly, the children in category A are seen as “real” street children, reinforcing popular notions of street children as victims “rather than as competent social actors, vulnerable but not passive.” (West A, 2000)
In Uzbekistan, four different categorizations are employed:

i) straightforward orphans who have never been in the custody of the State;

ii) residents of children’s homes who only return to such shelters to sleep;

iii) children living with parents or close relatives, but who often lead antisocial lifestyles;

iv) children with relatives, but who have run away from home because of poverty or cruel treatment (from villages or towns in the regions) and also children who have escaped from children’s homes (Tahlil, 2002)

Definition of a Child

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which India has ratified, defines children as persons below the age of 18 years.

However, in India there is no one definition for a ‘child’. The Census of India defines children as being below the age of 14 years. Social scientists include females in the age-group 15-19 years under the category of ‘girl-child’.
The legal conception of a child tends to vary. While the age of majority is 18 years for girls and 21 years for boys, under the Indian Majority Act a child is defined differently for different purposes under various other laws, as seen below:
a) Criminal law: Indian Penal Code - Nothing is an offence, which is done by a child under the age of 7. The age of criminal responsibility is raised to 12 years if the child is found to have not attained the ability to understand the nature and consequences of his/her act. Attainment of 16 years of age for a girl is necessary for giving sexual consent, which is not less than 15 years in case she is married.
b) Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 (a new law was passed in Parliament in 2001)- A juvenile is a child who has not completed the age of 16, in the case of a boy, or the age of 18 in the case of a girl.
c) Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929- A child is a person who, if male, has not completed 21 years of age and, if female, has not completed 18 years of age.
d) Apprentices Act, 1961- A person qualifies to be engaged as an apprentice only if he is not less than 14 years of age.
e) Factories Act, 1948- A child below 14 years of age is not allowed to work in any factory.
f) Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1966- A child is a person who has not completed 14 years of age.
g) Army headquarters regulations|- The age of recruitment into the Indian army is between 16 and 25 years of age.
h) Indian Contract Act, 1870- A person below the age of 18 has no capacity to enter into a contract.

For the purposes of this report, the term “street children” would refer to children less than 18 years age while street youth would refer to those between 18 and 22 years of age who share conditions similar to those below 18 years.

Street Children and Mumbai City

Most of the children ending up on Mumbai’s streets usually arrive through the crowded thoroughfare of Mumbai CST, Bombay Central and Dadar Railway Stations. These children are usually those who travel across states and end up in this city. Most children from outside the city also end up in the bus stations of Thane, and Kalyan.

Once these children reach the city, there are a few people waiting for them on the stations. The potters, the police, the good-for-nothings meddling around, they all have an eye on him. Some of them are, what Fr Placido Fonseca of Snehasadan calls, the “ child care takers”- the worst syndicate a child can run into. Nice ‘aunties’ or ‘uncles’ or even ‘street kids’ who approach the wide eye lost kid, befriend him, rob him and then induct him into the various trades they ply. The boy could be inducted into a group of thieves, or a begging racket, or be sold as bonded laborers in small scale units, or hotels. The girls might end up in brothels. A few of the ‘privileged’ ones might come in contact with one of the NGOs working in the platforms or railway/bus stations, who will then make attempts to encourage the child to go back home and in some cases they might be successful in doing so.

Socio-Demographic characteristics of street children in India and Mumbai city

Rane (2004) based on her study throws a light on the characteristics of street children in India. The majority of street children are boys (65 to 82%). Street girls are not often visible and it is difficult to trace them. But they are the most vulnerable of street kids. A large number of them (40 per cent) belong to the age group of 11-15 years, followed by the age group of 6-10 years (almost one-third of the total street child population). In Calcutta and Hyderabad there are more children in the age group 6-10 years on the streets; while in Bombay and Bangalore the 11-15 age group figure high (40 per cent and 80 per cent respectively). Out of every ten street children in India, eight are found to be Hindus. Christians and Muslims constitute a negligible proportion of the total street children. Only the cities of Madras and Bangalore have street children from Christian communities, while street children belonging to the Muslim community are in substantial number in Bombay, Calcutta and Kanpur. Among the Hindu street children almost half belong to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Contrary to the prevalent belief most of the street children in the metropolitan cities of India are not without family support. Studies indicate that as high as 89.8 per cent live with their parents or other members of their family.

Shelter Don Bosco, a NGO working for street children conducted a study on the migration patterns and demographic profile of street children in Mumbai (D’Souza Barnabe et al, 2002). It covered 1359 street children for whom the “street” was a “home” in every sense of the word i.e. these children had no roof over their heads, and no one whom they could call their own or belong to in the city of Mumbai. Findings of the study are as follows:

a) Figure 2: Place of Origin of the Street Children (Zones in India)

It can be seen from the figure below that a majority of children (56%) of children come to Mumbai from the West Zone areas i.e. of states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan, followed by North Zone (21%). .

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