Children in street
The phenomenon of children in street situations has many causes: economic, social and political, which are interdependent. There is often a symptom for the cause. These are the visible behavior "deviant" poor children and their families that are designated have, and much less often, macro-social dynamics that condition it. Challenged by a casual contact with these children, in most countries it is considered that the general survival strategies attitudes of physical and emotional (work, theft, drugs, sex) children is a symptom of social pathology of the poor, seen as a "class dangerous ". This triggers the vicious cycle of deviance and punishment: as soon as vagrancy is considered an offense, the criminalization of children in street situations causes more crime. At first, the child commits petty crimes just to survive, and then, since it is already labeled as a criminal, he assumes the role of a real offender and eventually specializes in this career. It is repression that keeps children in the street. When the political and social regulation allows a more nuanced debate, public opinion balance between solutions that range from hard-suppression measures for capacity building and human rights of the child. The institutionalization of children, still widespread in many countries, is a response to symptoms and not causes.
Provide children the means to build their future...
Valérie Lao