The Street Children of Latin America

1. The Street Children of Latin America Julia Jackson Alyssa Gill Sheina Whitney Gerald Mattern

2. Who Are Street Children? • Children who live primarily on the streets of a major city • They are apart of the subcatergory: “thrown away children” • They are more likely to come from single parent homes, or from impoverished families • Usually in the densely populated areas of the developing nations in Latin America • There are two major types: home-based and street-based

3. Home-Based vs. Street-Based • Home-based are those who at some point have the opportunity to return home either after working all day in the streets or after a few days of making a little money • Street-based are the children who spend all their time on the streets and do not have homes or any contact to family. • Because some street children are home-based, it is sometimes difficult to determine just how many children are considered “street children”

4. A Few Characteristics • There is an estimated 40 million children living on the streets, or about 45% of the children in Latin America • Most come from shantytowns and the slums • Mostly males aged 10-15, most girls are able to work in homes • They sleep under bridges, abandoned buildings, or in public parks • Most leave their families because they are abused by relatives, extreme poverty • Most become sexually active at a very early age, and engage in “survival sex” • Some girls are involve in prostitution • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1113205/table/T2/

5. Main Causes • Most try to either support themselves, or supplement their families income • Most are forced on the streets because of economic necessities • Some families send their children to find work as street vendors, street workers, street entertainers. Those who aren’t with the family most steal and are beggars as well • Some go out with older siblings, then go into their own work • Inadequate government support to families • High birth rates leads to more children, which leads to more children ending up in poverty • Natural disasters, like hurricanes can displace families and children from one another, like in Haiti • The death of a parent • Mental and emotional abuse • Intentions of reaching America

6. Types of street children • There are three main subgroups of street youth in third world and developing countries. • The largest group is children who work in the streets part time. • The second group consists of children who run away usually for domestic abuse issues and survive by scavenging, begging and stealing • The third group consists of impoverished families who live in public areas

7. Outcomes: Abduction • Many children are abducted because they are orphans • Other children are convinced to be sold by their parents in hopes of providing better job opportunities or for quick profit

8. Outcomes: organ trade • Popular for homeless families to sell children and or organs for amounts ranging from tens to thousands of us dollars • Organs are sold all over the world through the black market

9. Outcome: Prostitution • Boys are exploited more often than young girls • Increased number of infected children with HIV • In saopaulo brazil, 4/5 of prison population is comprised of former street children • Red- illegal, blue- legal but not regulated, green- legal and regulated

10. Outcomes: Gangs • Gangs view children valuable resources • The majority of recruits are tricked into joining . Gangs offer protection, food, shelter, education, money ; essentials. It is also common for children to be drugged and threatened for services • Constantly decreasing age of recruitment

11. Solutions to the Problem of Street Children • There are numerous solutions to the issue of the increasing number of street children • The issue of street children has been traditionally tackled with four methods: • Institutionalization • Rehabilitation • Outreach • Prevention

12. Institutionalization (Government) • The institutionalization of street children was implemented with the goal of correcting behavior • Focused on correctional education instead of support and care • These programs were ineffective and expensive • Polarized street children by treating them as criminals

13. Rehabilitation (Community) • The most widespread community organizations are churches and local orphanages • These institutions deal with the issue of street children by providing housing, food, education, clothing and medical care • Community organizations focus on rehabilitation instead of institutionalization • There are issues with the process of rehabilitation as it is expensive and requires a long-term commitment • Children learn few skills and are not motivated to seek employment

14. Outreach (NGOs and Community Groups) • Emphasizes practical skills and employment • Deployment of “ecuadores de rua” (“street teachers”) who meet and educate children in their own communities • Some deem these programs a failure because they do not focus on preventing the creation of street children in the first place

15. Prevention (NGOs and Governments) • Focuses on economic problems and human rights issues • Utilizes self-help initiatives and educates families/children • Other initiatives include vocational training for parents and welfare programs for poor families • The main issue is that they are expensive

16. Examples of Nations with Street Children Once a prosperous country Seen today as a developing country Economic globalization  Wedge between classes Major Cities: -Buenos Aires -Córdoba -Rosario • Argentina

17. Argentina: State of Children • Major Issues • Poverty • Violence in Education • Right to Education • Health • Native Children • Child Labor

18. Chile One of the most stable countries in Latin America Major Cities: Santiago Puente Alto

19. Children of Chile • Major Issues • Poverty • Healthy • Education • Child Labor • Child Abuse • Street Children

20. Discussion Questions • What do you think is the best solution method for helping street children (Institutionalization, Rehabilitation, Outreach or Prevention)? • Why do you think the age of gang members being recruited continues being decreased? • Which other Latin American countries do you think would have a larger street child population?

21. Resources • Rizzini, Irene, and Mark Lusk. "Children in the Streets: Latin America's Lost Generation." Street Children Resources. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2013. <http://www.streetchildrenresources.org/ wp- content/uploads/2013/02/children-in-the-streets- latin- america.pdf>. • http://isw.sagepub.com/content/40/1/89.full.pdf+html • http://www.lasco.ie/ • http://www.casa-alianza.org.uk/northsouth/CasaWeb.nsf/Street-Children/Street_Children_Facts?OpenDocument • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1113205/ • http://www.streetchildrenresources.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/children-in-the-streets-latin-america.pdf • http://www.humanium.org/en/