Studies and Researches on Street Children

1. Studies and Researches on Street Children Dr. Neela Dabir Tata Institute of Social Sciences Mumbai

2. Why Research? • It is a relatively new phenomenon/numbers are ever increasing • Dearth of authentic data • Complex in terms of behaviour patterns/needs • Interventions have evolved over a period of time and need to document this evolution • Helps in planning and implementation • Dissemination of research data helps others in the field • Helps in conceptualization

3. Topics for Research on Street Children A. Understanding Street Children Phenomenon • Definitions • Numbers and Types • Life on the street • Migration patterns • Reasons for being on the street • Family background/support/contact • working conditions • Addictions • popular shelter/stay arrangements • Health status • Police harassment/Abuse/child rights issues

4. Topics for Research on Street Children B) Studies on Interventions • Strategies /programmes of the NGOs working with street children • Cross cultural studies on street children-National/International • programme evaluations/effectiveness • Faith based programmes vs secular programmes • Home placement/family reunion • Follow up studies • Policy analysis/ evaluation of Govt. schemes

5. Debates on Definitions and Terminology • Need to recognize that street children is not a homogenous group • The terms on and of the street are found to be problematic as they cannot include all categories of street children • Categories bases on family contact are also found to be problematic because-The terms home, family, protection, and a “responsible” adult are conceptualized differently across cultures

6. Seven Dimensions of a Child-Street System • Spatial elements • Temporal elements • Social elements • Dynamic behavior (types of activities), • Self-identification, • Motivation vis-`a-vis street life, and • Gender-structured differential access to street environments. Lucchini (1997)

7. Need for a Different Terminology • In Indian context, with so much of diversity across the country, one can imagine how homogeneous understanding can be a major problem in understanding the street children • Need for a better term as Street children is a stigmatizing label • This label contributes to a social reaction towards them • Social reaction leads to stereotypes related to gender, ethnicity, and age; for instance, that all street girls are prostitutes and street boys junkies, and that younger children should be pitied but teenagers, especially should be feared • Researchers acknowledge that the use of this generic term questionable—but retain it for lack of useful alternatives

8. Methodological Implications • The diversity of street children • Ethnicity • Contextualizing is necessary

9. Methodological Implications • Difficulties in Sampling –definition and numbers are not known so different methods of sampling are necessary • Data Collection methods – Use of questionnaires to be avoided as children are used to manipulations as a strategy for working with adults around, combination of qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection is advisable

10. Methodological Implications • Trust building is an important aspect of data collection • Children may not be ready to share information in a focus group unless they trust the other participants • Lack of understanding of street children by the investigators can lead to discrepancy in the information collected and realities of the street children

11. Methodological Implications • Gender context is important as the problems and impact of street life on boys and girls are different in many ways • Child rearing practices of street living families are different for boys and girls • Overcoming biases in data collection need for long term rapport and collecting data over a period of time can give a realistic picture • Reducing the danger of distortion of information by children

12. Methodological Implications • Assessment of children’s mental status – not many reliable tools are available • Training the investigators for minute observations and looking for indicators of mental status is necessary- not many such studies are available • Caution in reporting – danger of over generalization from a small sample

13. Need of the Day • Need to have wider consultation on appropriate research methodologies • Need for developing mechanisms for easy and wide dissemination of research findings on street children • Collaboration for cross cultural studies across different states of India • Special efforts to create an authentic data base on different categories of street children in India. • Moving towards a more inclusive and non stigmatizing term for this category of vulnerable children • Research on situational analysis, intervention strategies and policy analysis at National level should be a regular activity and not a sporadic one.