Children living on the streets
Unfortunately children living on the streets are deprived of most of their rights. In Bucharest there were perhaps a few dozen children living permanently on the streets immediately after 1990. The most recent estimates by the National Authority for the Protection of Children’s Rights (NAPCR) indicate that about 400-500 children were working and/or living in the streets of Bucharest by the end of 2004, though this may be a conservative estimation. The number of children working in the streets during the daytime has increased. Many of the working street children face health problems including skin diseases, scabies, wounds and burns, some also from tuberculosis and hepatitis, while most also display signs of chronic malnutrition. Street children are also exposed to sexual, often starting within their own family and then continuing on the street, and physical abuse, with some 50% of children working on the streets of Bucharest reporting to have been beaten at least once, especially by the police – according to the 2002 Rapid Assessment. In coping with the harshness of their lives on the streets, many children turn to drugs or solvents, including the common glue and paint thinners. Furthermore, street children continue to be discriminated against by authorities, such as the police, school and health systems. While many street children have never been to school, there are more who are illiterate.
|
