Street Action - Committed to street children through action and partnership

Including Street Children - A situational analysis of street children in Durban, South Africa

"Street Action's report on the rights of street children is a very important contribution to the debate about an issue that appears to be by and large invisible. It cannot remain so. Street Actions report will aid street child organisations globally to cogently argue for more investment, more policies and more action to be channeled in favour of street children. The authors state - 'Street-life can be devastating and extremely traumatic with hunger, violence and disease ever present. Street children are at risk from sexual abuse and sexual exploitation. Substance abuse, in particular solvent abuse (glue sniffing) is prevalent and used as a way to escape the harsh realities of street life.' Surely in the era of cooperation on MDG's this cannot and should not continue to be the normative experience for children - anywhere."
(Diarmuid O Neill. CEO Retrak, UK)

Including Street Children was a collaborative study led by the University of KwaZulu Natal, Umthombo Street Children and Street Action. Glynis Clacherty, Director of Clacherty Associates in South Africa and Joe Walker, Director of Street Action are the principle authors of this report. The research was funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID).

The report is a joint publication between Street Action and the Centre of African Studies based at the School of Oriental and African Studies.

Including Street Children provides an important insight into the gaps emerging between practice on the ground and child rights policy at national and international level, and emphasis is placed on how the children describe their own lives. The report challenges government and NGOs to see street children as a critical child protection issue, with legislation that recognises their rights. One report alone cannot deliver all the changes needed, but it seeks to enhance understanding of the issues street children face and translate findings into outcomes and key recommendations. Street Action is hopeful that the publication of this report will be another important step in recognising the rights of street children across the world.

The value of this report is in the emphasis placed on how the children described their own lives. It is not a perfect study, but the methodology adopted begins to describe the complexity of the challenges facing South Africa’s street children. Child participatory research methods were used to enable street children to explore specific topics. Data obtained from children on the streets through the health survey and HIV testing was triangulated with these participatory approaches and learning points reinforced.

To find out about the Including Street Children research project click here.

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