O presente estudo problematiza a questão do trabalho infantil nas ruas, a partir de uma perspectiva histórica, num cenário de desigualdade social, econômica e racial, que persiste nos dias atuais. Embora o Estado brasileiro tenha reduzido significativamente o trabalho infantil nas duas últimas décadas, persiste o contingente de 2,7 milhões de crianças e adolescentes em situação de trabalho, em todas as regiões do país, em diferentes segmentos de atividades econômicas. No cenário urbano, em grandes cidades como São Paulo, a população infantil nas ruas se intensifica, em trabalhos informais, em condições perigosas e precárias, nos faróis da cidade, principalmente no comércio ambulante e apresentações artísticas circenses, atingindo massivamente meninos negros, que estão invisíveis tanto nos dados do trabalho infantil quanto nas políticas sociais para o seu enfrentamento. Propõe-se uma análise do trabalho infantil nas ruas de São Paulo, a partir de levantamento de dados e pesquisa de campo na atividade de malabarismo. Busca-se desvelar realidades ocultadas, como o racismo e a pobreza estrutural, por uma ideologia do trabalho, que naturaliza essa violência praticada contra crianças pobres: torna invisível a criança como sujeito e a atividade nas ruas como trabalho. A invisibilidade social do trabalho infantil nas ruas também se revela nos dados gerais sobre trabalho infantil e nas políticas de prevenção e erradicação do trabalho infantil, como se demonstra nessa pesquisa, a partir da análise de dados, levantamentos censitários, entrevistas e diagnóstico das políticas públicas municipais no combate ao trabalho infantil. / This study problematizes the issue of child labor in the streets from a historical perspective in a social, economic and racial inequality scenario, which persists until the present day. Although Brazilian State has significantly reduced child labor in the last two decades, the contingent of 2.7 million children and adolescents in work situation persists in all regions of the country and in different segments of economic activities. In the urban scenario such as in large cities like São Paulo, the child population on the streets are intensified in informal works, in dangerous and precarious conditions, in the city\'s traffic lights, especially in street vending and circus artistic performances. It reaches massively black children, who are invisible both in the statistics of child labor as well as in social policies to tackle them. It is proposed an analysis of child labor in the streets of São Paulo through data collection and field research focused on juggling activity. The objective is revealing hidden realities such as the racism and structural poverty by a work ideology, which naturalizes this violence against poor children: it makes the child invisible as a subject and the activity on the streets as work. The social invisibility of child labor on the streets is also revealed in the general data on child labor and in policies to prevent and eradicate it as demonstrated in this research based on the data analysis, census surveys, interviews and diagnosis of municipal public policies in the fight against child labor.

街童是指大部分時間在街上生活的兒童。大多數的街童已經和家裡斷絕往來，依靠街童團體在現實世界生活下去。俄羅斯聯邦存在許多的街童。在俄羅斯轉型時期，國家將注意放在政治和經濟上，並且削減大幅度的社會福利，因此，創造出一波街童潮。 俄羅斯街童的生活方式不僅促使他們早夭，還惡化社會問題。本文從蘇聯制度遺緒、社會環境變遷，和家庭系統失衡來探討這一批街童的成因。最後，討論俄羅斯官方與非政府組織的因應街童措施，發現俄羅斯政府的態度與應對街童的措施是杜絕街童問題的關鍵。 / Street children are groups of children who spend most of their time living on the streets. Most of them have already cut their relationships with their families, and they depend on members of their street children group to survive in real world. There are many street children in the Russian Federation. When Russia was in transition, the government put the attention on politics and economy, besides that, the government reduced the scope of social welfare, therefore creating a wave of street children. The way of life of Russian street children does not only cause them to die young, but also is a factor for the deteriorating social problems. This study discusses cause factors of this group of street children from the soviet institution, the change of society, and the imbalance of the family system. Finally, this thesis discusses Russian official and NGO’s measures those responding to street children, and concludes that the attitude of the Russian government and how it reacts to the street children is a key factor in putting an end to the problem of street children.

La ricerca rappresenta un'indagine qualitativa di carattere esplorativo in merito al tema dell’identità e delle rappresentazioni sociali dei bambini che vivono sulle strade di Nairobi (Kenya). Sono state messe in luce e analizzate le numerose rappresentazioni degli street children, tra cui quella spregiativa – chokora – elaborata dalla comunità locale, che li assimila a rifiuti) per far emergere quanto l’identità del bambino di strada possa essere compresa facendo riferimento al soggetto come a un prodotto di condizionamenti sociali e culturali o anche come entità potenzialmente capace, all’interno di una continuità narrativa, di elaborare riflessivamente la propria esperienza e di produrre attivamente nuovi significati e nuove forme sociali. Sotto il profilo metodologico sono state realizzate quarantanove interviste strutturate, dodici semistrutturate e sessantacinque in profondità a street dwellers, ex street boys, famigliari di street children, operatori di ONG e CBO, testimoni privilegiati e soggetti della comunità locale. Si è fatto inoltre uso della tecnica visuale del diario fotografico e dell’osservazione partecipante. La ricerca empirica ha messo in luce che l’identità degli street children si struttura su relazioni di appartenenza e di differenziazione. Le rappresentazioni sociali sono determinanti per il processo identitario degli street children, ma è possibile un margine di negoziazione della propria identità, alla luce della conversazione interiore, che consente una ristrutturazione attorno a un perno positivo del sé relazionale. Questo avviene quando la negoziazione dell’identità viene vissuta come un processo relazionale, guidato dalle premure fondamentali del soggetto e all’interno di relazioni fiduciarie che consentono una rappresentazione positiva del sé. / The research is a qualitative exploratory study on the identity and social representations of the children living on the streets of Nairobi (Kenya). A number of representations of street children are shown and analysed(including the one – chokora – elaborated by the local community that assimilates the children to garbage) to demonstrate how the identity of the street children may be understood making reference to the subject as the product of social and cultural conditioning or as an entity possibly able – within a narrative continuity – to elaborate reflexively his own experience and to actively produce new meanings and social forms. Methodologically, forty-nine structured, twelve semi-structure and sixty-five in depth interviews were carried out with street dwellers, ex street boys, family members of street children, NGOs and CBOs’ social workers, privileged witnesses and individuals from the local community. Moreover, a visual technique (photo diary) and participatory observation were used. The empirical research has shown that the identity of the street children is formed on the relations of belonging and differentiation. Furthermore, social representations are determinant for the identity process of the street children, but there is also room for one’s own identity negotiation, in the light of the internal conversation, that allows a restructuring of the relational self around a positive mainstay. This happens when the negotiation of the identity is experienced as a relational process, oriented by the ultimate concerns, within trustworthy relations, that allow a positive representation of the self.

In Durban as well as many other cities around the world one can find the phenomenon of street children. Studies have highlighted various factors such as historical, political, social and economic, which have contributed to the formation of this phenomenon. The aim of this project is to analyse these factors in an attempt to understand the underlying issues and circumstances that lead to the phenomenon of street children. In conjunction with this, one needs to study existing examples of architectural solutions both local and abroad in order to identify the fundamental requirements that a design of this nature would need to include. It is also important that one analyse the local context as it may hold region specific needs that may not be evident from studies of foreign examples. This project seeks to identify the specific methods of rehabilitation and development, in order to create a successful architectural solution. In order to achieve this, one needs to recognise the specific design needs of children in an attempt to create a more conducive environment for rehabilitation. / Thesis (M.Arch.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

The study was motivated by a dearth in qualitative research on shelters. Moreover, the complex nature of the phenomenon of street shelters appeared to present challenges for researchers, policy makers as well as service providers in arriving at a shared understanding of the causes and symptoms and possible responses to addressing the needs of street children. This study focused on shelter services to street children. Three Shelters registered with the Department of Social Development participated in the study. The researcher used semi-structured interviews as a primary source of information in conjunction with other relevant available sources of material to gather information from service providers. The investigation was undertaken over two cycles. The initial investigation was carried out prior the passing of the Children’s Act No 38 of 2007 and the follow up investigation was conducted three years into implementation. The aim of the study was to explore the nature and extent of programmes offered to street children prior and post implementation of the Children’s Act. The investigations revealed that although shelters initially gained legal recognition through the registration process, they were not recognized in the same light as other child care and protection services and were discriminated against, directly as a result of exclusion from relevant policy. The passing of the Children’s Act No. 38 of 2005 signalled hope for shelter services. It set in motion a paradigm shift in the manner in which shelters operate and function and signals partnerships and co-operation between the state and non-government sector. However, the findings revealed that three years into implementation, the Children’s Act No 38 of 2007 has not yielded much progress in shelter services. This research draws attention to the prevailing gaps in services as well as the purposeful implementation of policy towards meaningful interventions to street children. It is hoped that the findings will influence purposeful engagements between the Shelters and the Department of Social Development in addressing identified gaps. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

The aim of the study on which this thesis is based was to gain an understanding of the life situation of street children in Kenya and to investigate how caring institutions care for these children.  A reflexive ethnographic approach was used to facilitate entry into the children’s sub-culture and the work contexts of the caregivers to better understand how the children live on the streets and how the caregivers work with the children. A fundamental aim of the research was to develop interventions to care; one of the reasons why we also used the interpretive description approach. Method and data source triangulation was used. Field notes, tape, video, and photography were used to record the data.  Participant observation, group discussions, individual interviews, home visits, key informant interviews, participatory workshops and clinical findings were used for data collection in Studies I and II.  In addition to observation, interviews were conducted with caregivers for study III, while written narratives from learners attending adult education developed and implemented during the research period provided data for study IV.  Study I indicated that food, shelter and education were the main concerns for the children and that they had strong social bonds and used support networks as a survival strategy.  Study II provided a deeper understanding of the street culture, revealing how the boys are organised, patterns of substance use, home spaces in the streets and networks of support. The boys indicated that they wanted to leave the streets but opposed being moved to existing institutions of care. A group home was therefore developed in collaboration with members of the category “begging boys”.  Study III indicated how the caregivers’ interactions with the children were crucial in children’s decisions to leave the streets, to be initiated into residential care, undergo rehabilitation and to be reintegrated into society.  Caregivers who attempted to use participatory approaches and took time to establish rapport were more successful with the children.  Study IV suggested that the composition of learners, course content grounded on research, caregivers’ reflections and discursive role of researchers and facilitators, all contributed to adult learning that transformed the learners’ perspectives and practice.

Este estudo trata da Análise do Discurso da história de vida de uma menina na rua que se tornou dramaticamente mulher de rua. Através de uma análise dos enunciados tentou-se compreender a dimensão subjetiva da experiência de vida e os sentidos do silêncio. Isso faz parte de uma política de silenciamento e de exclusão social, tendo como protagonistas uma menina e seus familiares. Dessa forma, foi procurado um entendimento de um itinerário que se iniciou com fenômenos relacionados à gama da violência doméstica, encontrando a vítima na rua um pseudo-espaço protetor. Como método, houve uma análise da respectiva história de vida de uma adolescente que freqüenta uma organização não-Governamental situada no município de Vitória de Santo Antão (PE), responsável pelo cuidado com esta população. O presente estudo se caracterizou numa contribuição das Ciências da Linguagem ao fenômeno, haja vista que o produto da enunciação e do silenciamento precisa ser estudado na sua dinâmica lingüística e psicossocial, para que se possa construir instrumentos necessários à melhor atuação e prevenção do problema. / This study it deals with the Analysis of the Speech of the life history of a girl in the street that if became street woman. Through an analysis of the statements it was tried to understand the subjective dimension of the life experience and the directions of silence. This is part of one politics of silencing and social exclusion, having as protagonists a girl and its familiar ones. Of this form, an agreement of an itinerary was looked that if it initiated with phenomena related to the gamma of the domestic violence, finding the victim in the street a protective pseudo-space. As method, it had an analysis of the respective history of life of an adolescent who frequents a situated not-governmental organization in the city of Victory of Santo Antão (PE), responsible for the care with this population. The present study if it characterized in a contribution of Sciences of the Language to the phenomenon, has seen that the product of the articulation and the necessary silencing to be studied in its linguistic and psicossocial dynamics, so that if it can construct to necessary instruments to the best performance and prevention of the problem.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Aims: To estimate the number of street children and adolescents in Maceió and Arapiraca, northeast Brazil, describe the characteristics of this population. Methods: The number of children and adolescents in street situation in Maceió and Arapiraca was estimated using the Capture-Recapture method and calculated with log-linear method. Three independent lists of children and adolescents in street situation of each municipality were constructed. In each municipality in was obtained on official list and two other lists from surveys. Each survey took the entire day, the first in a week day (Wednesday) and the other in the following Saturday. The characteristics of the children were recorded during the street surveys. Results: The estimated number of children and adolescents in street situation was 4965 in Maceió and 466 in Arapiraca. The population estimated before was 565 in Maceió and 158 in Arapiraca. In Maceió most street children and adolescents were male (71,4%) and (71,80%), who maintain contact with their families (85,3%) and (89,60%) and frequent the school (43,4% and (49,70%), drug use was referred for 47,00% of the children and adolescents in Maceió and (26,6%) in Arapiraca glue associated on not with other drug was the most cited one. Conclusion: children and adolescents in street situation is a common event in Maceió and Arapiraca and individuals envolved have similiar characteristics to street children from other countries and other cities in Brazil. The estimated number of street children and adolescents, calculated by Capture-Recapture method is coherent to the cities socioeconomic and demographic status. The method of Capture-Recapture seems to be suited to study mobile populations such as street children and adolescent good reproducibility. / Objetivo - Estimar o número de crianças e adolescentes em situação de rua em Maceió e Arapiraca, nordeste do Brasil, usando o método Captura-Recaptura, descrever suas características. Metodologia - O número de crianças e adolescentes em situação de rua em Maceió e Arapiraca dois municípios do estado de Alagoas, foi estimado usando o método Captura-Recaptura, calculado pelo método log linear. Três listas independentes de crianças e adolescentes em situação de rua de cada município foram construídas, através de uma lista de registro de uma organização governamental e de duas pesquisas realizadas em cada município estudado, em um dia de semana (quarta-feira) e no sábado. As características destas crianças foram registradas durante as pesquisas de rua. Resultados - A estimativa do número de crianças de rua foi de Maceió foi de 4965 e de Arapiraca foi de 466. A estimativa oficial desta população antes da pesquisa era de 565 em Maceió e de 158 em Arapiraca. Em Maceió e Arapiraca a maioria das crianças e adolescentes são do sexo masculino (71,4%) e (71,80%), preserva contato com seus familiares (85,4%) e (89,60%) e ainda freqüenta a escola (43,6%) e (49,70%). O uso de drogas em Maceió foi referido por 47,0% das crianças e adolescentes de Maceió e 26,6% de Arapiraca, sendo a cola a droga mais usada, associada ou não a outras drogas. Conclusão - Crianças e adolescentes em situação de rua em Maceió e Arapiraca é um evento muito constante e as crianças envolvidas têm características similares às de crianças de rua de outros países e cidades do Brasil. A estimativa do número de crianças e adolescentes em situação de rua pelo método Captura-Recaptura, reflete o esperado quando comparado através de indicadores socioeconômicos, com cidades de porte semelhante (Aracaju). O Método Captura-Recaptura é adaptável e adequado para estudar populações móveis como crianças e adolescentes em situação de rua, possuindo boa reprodutibilidade.

This thesis aims at describing how the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is reflected in the overall operation of the Non-Governmental Organizations and government agencies working with children in street situations in Bangkok, Thailand. It describes children in different street situations in Bangkok; intervention approaches and working methods of the agencies that provide the services for them as well as similarities and differences in each group of the children. As the CRC sets a framework for interventions concerning children, it was interesting to explore whether the practitioners in Bangkok apply the convention in their interventions. This is a descriptive research applying the qualitative data collection methods by which literature review was conducted and semi-structure interviews were carried out according to a written interview guide with professionals represented NGOs and government agencies who directly work with children in street situations, followed by a deductive content analysis of the transcribed interview texts. The field observations were conducted in different areas of Bangkok in order to understand the working environments of the organizations and the conditions of the children. The findings revealfour groups of children in street situations in Bangkok with one being migrants. Their dwelling areas are determined by its socio-economic activities while the livelihoods of each group of children are different. In order to respond to their situations and promote as well as protect their rights, the NGOs and government agencies coordinate in a Network for Street Children in responding to their situations through a Street Teacher Approach. They conduct street/community outreach and responsive actions aiming at protecting, advocating for rights to education, eliminating child labor exploitation, being their significant other,facilitating durable repatriation for migrant children in street situations etc. The rights concept is universal but the childhood concept is culturally relative. The actors in Bangkok bridge the two concepts by taking the situation and the best interest of the child into consideration: they prioritize the child’s well-being which entails rights protection and promotion.

This research project explores the work done by professionals who work with street children in Mumbai, India, and their perceptions of how art therapy could benefit this population. Ten organizations that serve street children in Mumbai, India participated in a qualitative interview and survey that aimed to gather information and explore the specific needs, psychological issues, and services provided to street children in Mumbai, India. The link between the surveys and the interviews strongly suggest an interest and desire from professionals to learn more about art therapy, and in corporate this modality into the services they provide for this population. The research found that the basic needs of food, shelter, and medical health are a foremost priority for organizations that serve street children, before psychological issues can be addressed. The literature, interviews, and the surveys also make it manifest that the development and incorporation of art therapy should be culturally specific, and sensitive to the needs of that population. Further research and study with these organizations is needed to garner a deeper understanding of how art therapy assessment and treatment modalities can be adapted to best serve street children in Mumbai, India.