The street child drama being played out on South African streets
continues the process of victimisation begun in the families and
communities. Deprivation, poverty, and disorganisation are just
some of the characteristics evident in the families and
communities of street children . The decision to opt for street
life in exchange for the grinding poverty and hardships of family
and community life, is a stark illustration of children who have
no other options, but a life on the streets. The process of
becoming a street child ends with the runaway episode and opens
new vistas of victimisation for street children .on the streets.
One process ends therefore, and another one begins. It is argued
in this study that street children are doubly victimised.
Victimisation in the streets sets in motion the process of
engaging , in deviant careers, which engenders further
victimisation .
Three themes are evident in the present study, these are
causation, victimisation and deviance. From the discussion of
these themes it is possible to construct a social profile of
street children, before and after street life .
Chapter one introduces the subject for study by discussing the
background to the study, rationale behind it, aims, theoretical
assumptions and definitions of relevant constructs .
Chapter two reviews the literature on street children with
specific reference to the causation, victimisation and deviance themes.
Chapter three provides a methodological account of the research
procedure.
Chapters four and five present the findings from the empirical
study. The perceptions of street children and service providers
are discussed within a symbolic interactionistic perspective and
highlight the victimisation and deviance themes in the study.
Chapter six contains the recommendations and conclusions. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1995.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ukzn/oai:http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za:10413/7754 |
| Date | January 1995 |
| Creators | Chetty, Vanitha Rakshana. |
| Contributors | Graser, R. R. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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