Primary school years
The family should be the basic environment of a child, all the way through adolescence. Understanding the structure and function of the families is thus important, especially since most children exploited in the worst forms of child labour, as well as children in conflict with the law, come from families rather than from institutions, as was previously believed. At least 30% of children living permanently on the streets had experienced violence and abuse. In spite of changes that have occurred in modern Romanian society, gender inequities within the family persist, especially among vulnerable groups. Disobedience might result in physical punishment. Children coming from families in which one or both parents are absent are particularly vulnerable to exclusion, although many children from nuclear families also face exploitation and exclusion. The majority of daytime street children, as well as 82% of children in conflict with the law, have a nuclear family with both biological parents. Coming from a family with many children is linked with poverty and low educational levels, and is a risk factor – more working children are found in households with many family members.
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