Causes Of Street Children
Children most often leave home because they are fleeing instability or have been rejected and abandoned by their families for various reasons (disabilities, disease or disobedience).
Others have done so because their families live in severe economic distress, either in rural villages or city slums, and are unable to care for them. It is not uncommon that parents in extreme poverty will encourage older children to leave home to find ‘work,’ which may include begging, selling scrap materials for recycling or prostitution. Many who flee extreme poverty to join street life often do so under the impression that it will provide them with more opportunity and economic advantages than their home lives could offer.
The Three Main Causes Of Street Children
- Abusive Treatments
- Financial Constrainment
- Not adhearing to rules
Life on the streets proves to be treacherous for children who find themselves without anywhere else to call home and children become extraordinarily resilient in order to survive. Many are ‘adopted’ by gangs, who form and function to satisfy a much needed sense of ‘belonging’ for children without families or other support systems, and are accordingly trapped in cycles of criminal activity and violence. At one point or another, most turn to substance or drug abuse in order to endure the harshness of the streets, whether that be threat of violence