Street Children, Exploitation and Begging

1. Street Children, Exploitation and Begging A Presentation for Children, 8th through 11th Form Developed by the Gender and Development Council

2. Who Are Street Children? • “A street-connected child is understood as a child for whom the street is a central reference point – one which plays a significant role in his/her everyday life and identity.’’ (United Nations, 2012) • Some children live on the streets without family connections while some keep strong links with family members.

3. Do all street children live on the streets? • Not necessarily. They might spend a lot of time on the street such as in gangs; they might work on the street, or live on the street. • We use the term ‘street connected’ as well as ‘street children’ meaning children for whom the street plays a key role in their lives.

4. Why do children choose to live on the streets? • Children do not choose to live on the streets. Many have had bad experiences within their homes, or while living at an orphanage. • Some live on the streets because it is safer than home. • Some have left orphanages, some were abandoned, and some leave home. It is rarely ever a “choice”. Sometimes there is not another option.

5. Are there street children in Ukraine? Yes. They are harder to see and often sleep in hidden places, such as in sewer systems, or ‘sofa surf’. As many as 160,000 children are ‘street connected’ in Ukraine and many of these children end up sleeping on the streets.

6. What is Child exploitation and Begging? • Child exploitation: Any girl or boy who is street connected, and whom have become supervised by adults. However this is not usually in the best interest of the child, and is a way for the adult, to obtain money. This is called exploitation. This can be in many forms, including sexual exploitation, forced labor, organ removal and/or begging. (Inter-NGO, UNICEF) • Child Begging: Children who ask for money, which in most cases, goes to an adult, not the child. Some children beg because their family members tell them to do so, and some are exploited by “adults”/traffickers who look for children who need help and take advantage of them.

7. Why do some street children commit crimes? • As in the case with begging and exploitation, the child is being taken advantage of and is not committing crimes because they want to. Many times they are being forced to do so. • Some children have to commit crimes to survive, but not all do.

8. What can we do to help? If you think you see someone being exploited, call the police, or have your parent call the police to report it. -The Police number is 102. -You can also report to La-Strada Ukraine, toll-free. 0-800-500-225 -Also, Ministry of Interior of Ukraine: 044-374-37-79.

9. What can we do to help? • Get your school involved and teach your peers about this topic! • If you or a friend is having problems at home, call 386, La-Strada will counsel you for free and help you find a safe place if home is not safe. • If you want anymore information on counter-trafficking, call the International Organization for Migration (IOM) hotline 527. • Do not give money to street children. It only continues to exploit the children.