Many of the street children who have run away from home have done so because they were beaten or sexually abused. Tragically, the main causes of street children are homelessness and poverty that can lead to further abuse through exploitative child labor and prostitution.

1. Street children are some of the most
vulnerable children on the planet

2. Child Labour:
Most BD street children work. In
Jaipur, a common job is rag-picking,
in which boys and girls as young as 6
years old sift through garbage in
order to collect recyclable material.
The children usually rise before dawn
and carry their heavy load in a large
bag over their shoulder. Rag-pickers
can be seen alongside pigs and dogs
searching through trash heaps on
their hands and knees.

3. Gender Discrimination:
In Indian Society females are often
discriminated against. Their health,
education, prosperity and freedom
are all impacted. This can be seen in
the fact that human development
report (United Nations report, 2011)
indicates that India is one of the low
performing countries in the world
and ranked 132 out of 187 in terms
of gender inequality. The problem is
worse in conservative Rajasthan
than almost anywhere else in India.

4. Abuse:
Many of the street children
who have run away from
home have done so because
they were beaten or sexually
abused. Tragically, the main
causes of street children are
homelessness and poverty
that can lead to further
abuse through exploitative
child labour and prostitution.

5. Health:
Poor health is a chronic problem for
street children in India. At 400 million,
India is a home to the world’s largest
child population. More than 50 per
cent of the children are malnourished
and almost 50 per cent of them do not
attend school. The proportion is much
higher for street children and child
labour. These children are not only
underweight, but their growth has
often been stunted; for example, it is
very common to mistake a 12 year old
for an 8 year old.

6. Homelessness:
Street children in India may be
homeless because their family is
homeless through poverty or
migration, or because they have
been abandoned, orphaned or
have run away. It is not unusual to
see whole families living on the
sidewalks of Jaipur, or rows of
individual children sleeping
around the railway station.

7. Poverty:
Poverty is the prime cause of the
street children crisis. Children from
well-off families do not need to
work, or beg. They live in houses,
eat well, go to school, and are likely
to be healthy and emotionally
secure.

8. Thanks
for
watching