Street Children, Human Rights, and Public Health: a Critique and Future Directions
Description:
This review presents a critique of the academic and welfare literature on street children in developing countries, with supporting evidence from studies of homelessness in industrialized nations. The turn of the twenty-first century has seen a sea change of perspective in studies concerning street youth. This review examines five stark criticisms of the category "street child" and of research that focuses on the identifying characteristics of a street lifestyle rather than on the children themselves and the depth or diversity of their actual experiences. Second, it relates the change of approach to a powerful human rights discourse-the legal and conceptual framework provided by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child-which emphasizes children's rights as citizens and recognizes their capabilities to enact change in their own lives.
Type of Resource:
Journal
Publication Date:
2002
Volume:
31
Pages:
147
Location:
Palo Alto