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Away from the bad treatment
Study reveals that domestic violence
leads children to choose a life in the streets.
A common scene in third world countries is the reality that as countries become more globalized there is the phenomenon that more and more street children are appearing in cities with the greatest urban development. Contrary to traditional theories domestic violence and not socio-economic conditions is the principal motivator sending children into the streets in search of a more peaceful life and away from family conflicts. This reality is true as much in Brazil as in the United States.
The conclusions of anthropologist Benedito dos Santos were made through comparative research between street kids from SPaulo and New York The results were compiled in his Doctorate thesis Unmanageable Children: Runaways, Street inhabitants and Street Kids from New York and SPaulo, that the researcher defended at Berkeley University, California.
Brazilian and American street children are very similar in why they leave home and maintain a life in the streets. according to Santos, founder of Movimento Nacional dos Meninos e Meninas de Rua (MNMMR) (the National Movement of Boys and Girls of the Street) and a consultant for The United Nations Childrens fund (UNICEF).
Interviews with 110 ex-street kids (57 in NY and 53 in SP) demonstrate that even in countries with varying degrees of development, street youth recount dramatically similar life stories and reasons for leaving home.
I grew up living with violence and terror, far from any family structure. remembers an ex-New York street girl, who currently is a sex professional.
Similar descriptions were made in the streets of Sao Paulo.
Here we suffer much domestic violence. Some kids like the streets because they want freedom. Others have suffered violence by their parents said Jefferson, a 24 year-old.
From the 57 interviews in New York, Santos points out that 50% were children of remarried parents, 10% from single-parent homes; the majority of which were female head of household. In Sao Paulo the rate was 30% and 22% respectively, showing that in Brazil the number of children leaving single parent homes was higher.
With the rise in separations and the number of single mothers, more women are assuming the responsibilities of the father and this creates conflict. According to modern ideology the mother is responsible for unconditional love of the child. When he perceives that he is not receiving the affection he had hoped for, he feels betrayed and he runs away. It can be a cry for attention- explains Santos.
The same scene is often repeated in remarried families, in that the children demand an unequal distribution of the parents affection than that of their siblings and the children of the stepparent. The US children complained of sharing presents and family income. There 50% said they left home due to domestic violence and 7% for economic hardships. In Brazil 60% admitted to a lack of familial affection and 40% cited economic hardships, but pointed to family conflict as the determining factor.
The anthropologist attests that poverty is not the reason that leads youth to the street, considering that the economic difficulties can lead them to informal jobs, but does not make them street kids. It should be noted that 80% of child laborers are not street children.
Among the differences between the New York and Sao Paulo youth the anthropologist points out that the research shows that the American street children are older and more institutionalized than the Brazilian ones, due to the intolerance of US authorities to their presence on the streets. In the US it is a crime to leave home before 18.
To prevent these youth from living in the streets the US offers various alternatives including a USD$600 monthly payment available to foster parents that are willing to assume parental responsibilities for the child, if the child does not wish to return home. Additionally, the US has a vast sheltering system with space to accommodate 40,000 minors.
According to Santos these institutions are similar to FEBEM in Brazil but with greater resources and better infrastructure. The shelters have developed pedagogical activities; they offer a clean change of clothes among other amenities. Santos believes that a critical reflection on the working methodology and psychology of these shelters reveals principally a disadvantage due to the distance between educators and the minors.
What surprised Santos; when using different criteria, he found that though the number of children sleeping in the streets of SP and NY were the same: 900, the number of children loitering in SP streets during the day most of them practicing child labor surpasses by 3,000 the number of children in Times Square.
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