Press Centre 2004/12/10: Child Protection

Children Under Threat of Violence (3)

Zeynep Koç speaks about ‘Children Under Threat of Violence’ on the occasion of the launch of The State of the World’s Children 2005, Children Under Threat

Violence on the streets

Thank you very much for joining us here today and listening to what we have to say.

The worst form of violence used against a child is where he is prevented from living his childhood. There can be nothing worse than depriving a child of the opportunity to be a child. Low levels of socioeconomic development contribute to this: families see their children as a source of income, also damage their children emotionally. Adults and children living on the streets sometimes choose the wrong ways to make a living -- this is much common now than before.

Some children living on the streets actually appear to enjoy their life. But we should do our best to make sure that they have the opportunity to live more fulfilling lives, just as we do ourselves. These children may have fun on the streets, but they are also maybe more aware than we are of the street’s potential to damage them. They don’t live in warm houses like we do; they live in the open, on construction sites, in ruins, under bridges, inside mosques and many other places that we don’t ever hear of.

Sometimes they have no money or perhaps they never have money so they sell drugs and, in some cases, sell themselves. They abuse substances. For example, many street children -- from the youngest to the oldest -- are using drugs, adhesives, paint thinners and other harmful substances. Perhaps some of us see this as natural behaviour: children living on the street don’t make much of an effort to conceal their abuse of such substances, they use them in public view. Is this natural?

Shouldn’t we do our best to save them from an environment that lets them do this?

The State gives street children some opportunities and in some cases the shelter of a warm place to stay. The Social Services and Children Protection Agency (SHÇEK) is best example of this.

Children with emotional disorders are treated in health care institutions; rehabilitation centres heal their physical and emotional illnesses. Runaways are welcomed in State institutions but they often run away from these places. Children who run away from their homes find themselves working on the streets, thinking that they earn money but in the end they just live for another day scraping enough to overcome their hunger.

Often people who migrate from villages do not know what to do in a big city and feel that they do not belong there. Not every child who is abused or thrown onto the streets due to an economic crisis is a street child. A child who gets no love from his family -- perhaps because his family has a low level of income -- can come to believe that his family is not interested in him or his education. He may begin to imagine that there is a better life to be had on the streets and that he can make friends there.

Some families push their children onto the streets to earn money. A child in this situation can get used to being on the streets where he will make friends and ultimately join a gang. In a gang, such children can find themselves reaching with the same hand to share the same thing. In these situations they might struggle among one another and resort to violence.

In general the older ones will certainly use violence.

There are many people living on the streets and under the bridges today because they have no money and children living on the streets can easily acquire bad habits. The police don’t protect street children from violence. Adults drive children onto the streets with violence so street children believe that they can do better when they are a part of a gang or a group. A good education beginning with the parents is a must to get these children off the streets. If a child has no money or is an addict and cannot find peace on the streets he feels lonely and tags along with whatever his friends tell him, in order to feel part of the group.

There are those are so poor that they cannot even find some bread to eat while some just let the meat spoil in the fridge.

We have to help the street children.

Come on, let’s join together and rescue them from the streets.

View the State of the World’s Children report online or order printed copies from UNICEF Headquarters in New York.

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