M AKING G LOBAL C ONNECTIONS : CHILDREN, THE STREETS AND US Sarah Thomas de Benitez 1 November 2011.
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Transcript of M AKING G LOBAL C ONNECTIONS : CHILDREN, THE STREETS AND US Sarah Thomas de Benitez 1 November 2011.
START WITH CHILDREN Listen, observe, discuss, reflect
Stories of multiple deprivations - before touching urban streets
‘My stepmother used to say she and my father quarreled because of me – she did not want to take me in with her other children. But my father wanted to take me. After big arguments my stepmother used to beat me – even
when it was not any fault of mine. My father never used to defend me or stopped my stepmother.’ Geeta, a girl
aged 11 or 12, India
‘I am always asking myself about the things that happened to me, did I do something wrong to pay for it every day? All the things that I faced with my father and the persons who I worked with and all the abuse that I faced on a daily basis must be punishment for a thing that I didn’t do…’ a 15-year old boy in Alexandria, Egypt’
DEVELOPING STREET CONNECTIONS ‘Push’ factors – Deprivations
The fewer/weaker connections a child has with home, extended family, school, neighbourhood clubs and activities… the stronger the urge to develop significant connections in other environments. Whether alongside or instead of…
‘Pull’ factors – Choice / Tactical Agency
‘Street-connectedness’ suggests that children start to develop or strengthen their connections with and within the street when other connections are weakened, temporarily fractured, chronically damaged or broken…
‘STREET-CONNECTEDNESS’A PARADIGM SHIFT
On the street: Child as social actor developing relationships
with people and places (in everyday lives) Focus on children’s emotional and cognitive
associations with public spaces as well as physical presence on the street (children can be street-connected even when in a shelter or home)
Child who spends time working, hanging out or living on the street forms attachments there (not dependent on categorization such as in/of street)
Recognises that street-based experiences make particular contributions to identity development
CHILDREN WITH STREET CONNECTIONS
‘’Children for whom the street is a central reference point – one which plays a significant role in their everyday lives and identities’
USEFUL FOR INTERVENTIONS Connections with
street (nature/type & intensity)
Connections with family, neighbourhood, school, services
Understanding rights deprivations in a holistic context
Restoring, building on existing, and developing new connections to rights
USEFUL FOR CHILD PROTECTION SYSTEMS Strengthen healthy connections Prevent multiple deprivations Partnerships – with NGOs and private
sector Data collection around connections
Connected children who trust adults and know their rights are better able to defend them
STREET-CONNECTIONS, POLICIES AND GOVERNANCE… AND US. MUST INCLUDE:
Law Enforcement for children (+ sanctions)
Budgets for childhood Data Collection with
children Economic Policies for
child development Social protection policies
for child inclusion (social connections)
International support for children