The phenomenon of children living and/or working on the streets is universal, in particular in developing countries in Africa including South Africa. Causal factors are complex, multidimensional and inter-related and are mainly social and economic. They impact on three social institutions: school, community and family, which are the primary agents of socialisation. Children living and/or working on the streets are exposed to hazardous challenges: diseases; poor health; poor living conditions; crime and violence; arrest and incarceration; alcohol abuse; drug and sexual abuse; poor and exploitative working conditions. Consequently, they learn and internalise the survival culture as a coping mechanism. They suffer socio-economic exclusion in that living on the streets excludes them from participating meaningfully in life of mainstream society. The exclusion is derived from the general public's perception of children living and/or working on the streets, which is derived and shaped by media and sees them as criminals or in need of care. Society responded to the challenges of the phenomenon through shelter programs of intervention and reintegration. However, the efforts of NGOs and shelters have become inconsequential due to the rising numbers and increase their population. This intensifies demands on existing facilities and resources. Research on shelters did not gain any momentum comparative to studies on causative factors of the phenomenon. This situation plausibly could have arisen due to society's acceptance that shelters intervention and reintegration programs were adequately meeting and addressing the plight of children living and/or working on the streets. Yet shelters viewed as human service organisations have their organisational procedures and structures, which either hinder or facilitate the intervention and reintegration of children into the mainstream society. This study focuses on four shelters for children living and/or working on the streets in Durban. Social exclusion and/organisation theories informed the theoretical framework of the research. The enquiry applied a qualitative paradigm whereby individual interviews with shelter managers were conducted. Focus group discussions were conducted each separately with staff and children from the four shelters. The technique revealed valuable information about the experiences of children, staff and shelter managers as they interact and interface in the course of providing and receiving shelters services and in the implementation of intervention and reintegration programs. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

This study was designed to explore sexuality, parenthood, identity, and relationships among female and male youth living on the streets of Durban CBD. It sprung from my previous engagement on the street, which suggested the striking impact of gender on the lives of the youth. Much literature on children and youth living on the street ignore the gendered nature of street life, and this study filled the knowledge gap about gender constructions and gendered relationships on the street. Framed by critical theory, this study explored how constructions of masculinities and femininities are played out on the street and impact the youth’s relationships. It specifically focused on intersectionalities with socio-economic and other structures in understanding gender. Focus groups and individual interviews were conducted with 37 youth on the street, of which 17 were female. Approximately 50 focus group sessions and individual interviews were conducted. Due to drug use and lack of sleep, the concentration levels of the youth would vary a great deal, and the analysis is mainly based on approximately 25 of the focus groups sessions and interviews, which provided satisfactory depth. My extensive involvement on the street and the study’s embeddedness in practical, therapeutic, and conscientising social work ensured rich material. With the participants’ permission, the sessions were tape-recorded. The material was analysed according to critical discourse analysis. Four themes emerged during the analysis: Men as providers, violence, sex, and sexuality on the street; Girls’ violence and contestations of femininity and masculinity; Gang culture and constructions of masculinity; and Constructions of motherhood and fatherhood. Male provision was a major construction of masculinity among the youth on the street, greatly compromised by their socio-economic marginalisation. Consistent with international literature, poverty`s assault on masculinity was evident, and violence was a means to compensate for a wounded sense of masculinity and to establish male superiority. Girls’ sex work was a major gender role transgression, contesting hegemonic femininity, males’ control over women, and the provider role of boyfriends, and was violently opposed by the males living on the street. Girls worked hard to present themselves according to acceptable constructions of femininity, and framed their sex work according to the mandate of male provision, as caring relationships with wealthier men. Young mothers on the street struggled with the contradiction between constructions of motherhood and sex work. There was a demand for them to not give up custody of their children, yet the conditions of homelessness and the street made adequate caring impossible, and the mothers were almost inevitably doomed to condemnation and failure as ‘good’ women. Though male provision was a dominant construction of masculinity, it was not reflected in the actual lives of the youth on the street, and violence was by far the most important means to establish and confirm manliness. The significance given to violence was, in addition to the significant impact of poverty and consequent male vulnerability, framed by rules of the 26 gang. Conscientising work among the youth to reveal the real sources of their oppressions is called for, as well as practical and therapeutic work. Their lives reflect dominant structure in the larger society, and work towards egalitarian relations among genders in society overall as well as measures to transform the profound socio-economic inequality nationally and globally are called for. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, 2011.

This research is a result of prolonged work with children and youth on the streets of Durban Central Business District (CBD). This research process started in 2008 during my third year social work practice and in 2009 as part fulfilment of my social work bachelor’s degree. My contemporaries and I conducted a study on survival strategies of children and youth living on the streets of Durban CBD. It was during this period that we began to encounter organizational dynamics that we thought needed further study. The study sought to understand those inter and intra-organizational factors that have impact on their work with children and youth. This qualitative study used data source triangulation, incorporating in-depth interviews, journal notes and analysis of texts. The study was informed by critical theory. Of central importance in this study was critical discourse analysis as a research design and method of data analysis. This study found that some of the organizations, established to assist children and youth living on the streets, actually do present obstacles to their integral development. Children and youth migrate to towns and cities in search of a better life. When on the streets, children are caught up in organizational dynamics that have profound impact on their lives. It is this interface between the organizations themselves and the children that this research critically interrogated. Organizational dynamics, as reflected in this dissertation, present a threat to children’s and youth’s sense of future and the programmes and models being used need to be re-thought. Based on the main findings of the study, policy and practice recommendations are made in respect of promoting the welfare of children and youth living on the streets. / Thesis (M.A.)-Universiity of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

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.

There has been a lot of research highlighting the plight of street children throughout the world in the past few years. A review of the literature on street children reveals that the problem is worse in developing countries. The number of street children can be expected to increase in South Africa as a result of rapid urbanisation and development. This will certainly pose a problem for the government and other organisations concerned with the welfare of street children. In order to combat the proliferation of the number of children in the streets, concerned parties need to know more about street children before intervention and effective policies can be designed. This study was initiated to serve that purpose: to provide information on how street children perceive themselves. The information gathered and results of the study can be used by service providers to design effective intervention programmes. Twenty street children from the Pietermaritzburg central business district and the comparison group of twenty children from a "place of safety" in Pietermaritzburg were interviewed and assessed. Children from the "place of safety" were chosen as a comparison group because their familial histories have many factors which are common to street children as well. Assessment ofthe two groups of children entailed measuring the children's self-concepts by using the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. Human Figure Drawings were used to identify signs and levels of emotional distress using the Koppitz Emotional Indicators procedure. Furthermore, an unstructured interview was conducted with each child. The data was analysed quantitatively using statistical sub-programs of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The following statistical tests were computed: means to measure central tendency, independent t-tests to determine the statistical significance of the difference between the two groups' self-concept scores and emotional indicators. Quatro Pro and Harvard Graphics software packages were used to analyse the data qualitatively and present it graphically . Statistical analyses of the results reveal no significant differences between the self-concept of street children and that of the comparison group of placed children. Both groups' scores on the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale are within the average range. This means that street and placed children's perceptions of themselves, as measured by the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale, are similar to those of other children in the general population. Signs and levels of emotional distress as measured by Koppitz' list of Emotional Indicators are within the non-pathological range for both groups. This indicates that street and placed children's levels of emotional distress are similar to those found in other children in the normal population. It is therefore concluded that despite being exposed to hazardous situations and having lived in deprived and abusive situations, street children do not display significant levels of measured emotional distress. Street children are found not to be as disturbed as previously assumed by journalists and fiction writers who tend to romanticise or politicise their plight. Placed children, who also share some of the predicaments that street children have endured in terms of turbulent childhoods, do not seem to show deficits in their self-concepts and emotional functioning either. Recommendations on how to plan intervention programmes for street children are also offered. Moreover, the standardisation of the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale on local populations is recommended. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sci.)-University of Natal, Pietermartizburg, 1996