Background
Street children in both developing and developed countries are among the most vulnerable group of children who face a lot of difficulties in their day to day lives. They are subjected to conditions that are not conducive for emotional, social, physical, and intellectual development. The United Nations Report (2012) adopted UNICEF’s (2001) definition of street children as any boy or girl below the age of 18 who uses the streets as his or her habitual abode and as source of livelihood with inadequate protection or supervision by responsible adults. UNICEF (2001) further defined street children as any child who has not reached adulthood, where the streets, including unoccupied dwellings, shopping centres and inhospitable environment is his or her main residence and means of earning a living. Children living or working in the street survive by doing unskilled and menial jobs, committing small crimes to survive and sex work (Organ, 2021).
Globally, all nations have child protection policies which advocate for the better treatment and upbringing of children. In Africa, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) was adopted and entered into force in 1999. The ACRWC builds on the same basic principles as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) which was adopted in 1989. Both the ACRWC and the UNCRC advocate for the rights and protection of children regardless of their ethnicity, background, and social status. The South Africa Children’s Act 38 of 2005 set out principles in relation to the care and protection of children. Zimbabwe also has a legal and policy framework which advocates for the protection and safe bringing of children such as the Children’s Act (Chapter 5:06) (Zimbabwe Legal Information Institute, 2002). In 2009, Tanzania adopted a Child Act No. 21 of 2009 to stipulate rights of children and to promote, protect and maintain the welfare of children (International Labour Organization, 2009). Even though most or/all the countries globally have child protection laws and frameworks in force, the phenomenon of street children remains a global challenge and continues to stifle the development of children consequently affecting the growth of the economy globally.
The International Day for Street Children has been set each year between the 6th and 12th April to acknowledge the strength and resilience of millions of street children around the world (Consortium for Street Children, 2019). In 2018 the Consortium for Street Children (CSC) launched a five-year campaign plan to call for governments around the world to take steps that will achieve better treatment of street children (Consortium for Street Children, 2019). The campaign was divided into 4 actionable steps: commit to equality, protect every child, provide access to services, and create specialised solutions. The main aim of the above campaigns is to try to recognise the humanity, dignity, and defiance hardships of street children in the face of unimaginable hardships in the streets. It is against this background that this chapter intends to unleash ways and ideas on the provision of psychosocial support to all vulnerable children.
Children’s Rights
From birth children are born with their rights that are supposed to be respected by all. The rights for children were adopted by all the countries across the world under the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). In summary the UN General Assembly (1989) stipulated that every child has the right to life, right to identity, right to freedom of expression, thought, conscience and religion, right to freedom of association and to freedom of peaceful assembly, right to social, spiritual, moral, physical and mental well-being, right to parental care, right to protection from all forms of abuse, right to education, right to good health, right to standard of living that promote the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development. All the rights stipulated above are to be afforded to all the children regardless of their colour, religion, race, sex or social status, hence no child should be treated unfairly for any reason. Article 25 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) addresses the issue of separation from parents. The article stipulates that any child who is permanently or temporarily deprived of his family environment for any reason shall be entitled to special protection and assistance (African Union, 2012). The government and all the stakeholders who are responsible in the lives of children shall ensure that street children have special protection and assistance wherever possible.