NCJ Number
168531
Journal
Child Abuse Review Volume: 6 Issue: 3 Dated: August 1997 Pages: 199-217
Date Published
1997
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses some of the ways in which abuse and neglect affect the lives of street children and families in Nairobi, Kenya; it also highlights the plight of a sample of street children as exemplified by the kinds of difficulties they endure while on the street.
Abstract
Changes in family forms and relationships in Kenya are occurring at a time when the rate of urbanization and the level of poverty are escalating. Poverty, violence, and family disruption are among the factors that have put many Kenyan children at great risk. An economy that offers relatively little hope to anyone is likely to continue to produce more street children. The Nairobi Street Children Survey has shown that the population of street children in Nairobi continues to increase and that the problem is a product of multiple factors, some of which are intricately connected. The problem of street children in general and that of child abuse in particular still remain among the greatest challenges facing the people and government of Kenya. Efforts to address these problems should include a comprehensive and coordinated policy and program of intervention at all levels and in all sectors of society. The main task is to combat and alleviate poverty and economically empower vulnerable families currently living below subsistence levels. There is a need for a national policy on the regionalization of industrial development initiatives that could create jobs in the rural areas and reduce the urban migration of youth. 1 table and 19 references