Skip to main content

Street Children, Exploitation and Slavery

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Book cover Mental Health and Illness of Children and Adolescents

Part of the book series: Mental Health and Illness Worldwide ((MHIW))

Abstract

This chapter is about childhood adversities and the problems and mental health of street children, child laborers, and child slaves and soldiers. It describes intolerable and worse distressing aspects of child deprivation that are complex, social, cultural, political, and economical in nature; that often overlap as the different categories or types can be mutually inclusive and difficult to differentiate; or they are hard to understand the constraints of the constructs thereof; are controversial in terms of their impact on child development and mental health; and more importantly, to anybody they stimulate evoke variable responses and a range of thresholds of emotive issues such as degrees of acceptability, child rights, ethics, and morals (ILO 2015; Geneva 2015; Liebel 2015; Munthali 2018; Myers 2001). These constructs in this chapter referring to street children, child laborers, child slaves, and soldiers are dealt with separately in more detail. Finally, this chapter cites some examples of what works in improving the lives of child laborers, street children, and child slaves and soldiers.

A. Nikapota: deceased.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abdullahi II, Noor ZM, Said R, Baharumshah AZ (2016) Does poverty influence prevalence of child labour in developing countries? Int J Econ Financ Issues 6(1):7–12

    Google Scholar 

  • Aberra M, WMichael K, Lemma I (2003) Child labour and associated problems in a rural town in south West Ethiopia. Ethiop J Health Dev 17(1):45–52

    Google Scholar 

  • Aderinto AA (2000) Social correlates and coping measures of street-children: a comparative study of street and non-street children in South-Western Nigeria. Child Abuse Negl 24(9):1199–1213

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Agarwal RK (2004) The barefoot lawyers: prosecuting child labour in the supreme court of India. Ariz J Int Comp Law 21:663

    Google Scholar 

  • Alem HW, Laha A (2016) Livelihood of street children and the role of social intervention: insights from literature using meta-analysis. Child Dev Res. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/3582101. 3582101, 13 p.

  • Aptekar L (1994) Street children in the developing world: a review of their condition. Cross-Cult Res 28(3):195–224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aptekar L, CianoFederoff LM (1999) Street children in Nairobi: gender differences in mental health. New Dir Child Adolesc Dev 85:35–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asogwa SE (1986) Sociomedical aspects of child labor in Nigeria. J Occup Med 28(1):46–48

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ayaya SO, Esamai FO (2001) Health problems of street children in Eldoret, Kenya. East Afr Med J 78(12):624–630

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bales K, Hesketh O, Silverman B (2015) Modern slavery in the UK: how many victims? Significance 12(3):16–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benvegnú LA, Fassa AG, Facchini LA, Wegman DH, Dall’Agnol MM (2005) Work and behavioural problems in children and adolescents. Int J Epidemiol 34(6):1417–1424

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Betancourt TS, McBain R, Newnham EA, Advenika M (2014) A behavioural intervention for war-affected youth in Sierra Leone: a randomised controlled trial. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 53(12):1288–1297

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Betancourt TS, McBain RK, Newnham EA, Robert T (2015) The intergenerational impact of war: longitudinal relationships between caregiver and child mental health in post conflict Sierra Leone. J Child Psychol Psychiatr 56(10):1101–1107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhukuth A (2008) Defining child labour: a controversial debate. Dev Pract 18(3):385–394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cosgrove JG (1990) Towards a working definition of street children. Int Soc Work 33(2):185–192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Craig G (2017) The UK’s modern slavery legislation: an early assessment of Progress. Soc Incl 5(2):16–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dutta A (2014) Children in Dickens’s novels. Int J Stud Engl Lang Lit 2(2):1–4

    Google Scholar 

  • Duyar I, Ozener B (2005) Growth and nutritional status of male adolescent laborers in Ankara, Turkey. Am J Phys Anthropol 128(3):693–698

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fassa AG, Facchini LA, Dall’Agnol MM, Christiani DC (2000) Child labor and health: problems and perspectives. Int J Occup Environ Health 6(1):55–62

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fekadu D, Alem A (2001) Child-labour and emotional disorders in an urban district, Ethiopia: a rapid assessment on community perception of child labour. Ethiop J Health Dev 15(3):197–202

    Google Scholar 

  • Fekadu D, Alem A, Hägglöf B (2006) The prevalence of mental health problems in Ethiopian child labourers. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 47(9):954–959

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gamlin J, Camacho AZ, Ong M, Hesketh T (2015) Is domestic work a worst form of child labour? The findings of a six-country study of the psychosocial effects of child domestic work. Child Geogr 13(2):212–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gharaibeh M, Hoeman S (2003) Health hazards & risks for abuse among child labor in Jordan. J Paediatric Nursing 18(2):140–147

    Google Scholar 

  • Glauser B (2015) Street children: Deconstructing a construct. In James, A. (Ed.), Prout, A. (Ed.). (2015). Constructing and Reconstructing Childhood. Routledge, London. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315745008

  • Hadi A (2000) Child abuse among working children in rural Bangladesh: prevalence and determinants. Public Health 114(5):380–384

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harfst M (2013) Street children in Brazil: daily struggles in a complex social setting. GRIN Verlag, Munich

    Google Scholar 

  • Hounmenou C (2016) Exploring child prostitution in a major city in the west African region. Child Abuse Negl 59:26–35

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • ILO (1973) ILO conventions 138 minimum age convention 1973. International Labour Office, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • ILO (1999) ILO convention 182 worst forms of child labour convention 1999. International Labour Office, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • ILO (2015) Development of an instrument for the psychosocial assessment of child workers. International Labour Office, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • ILO (2017) Global estimates of child labour: results and trends 2012–2016. International Labour Office, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • Kassouf AL, McKee M, Mossialos E (2001) Early entrance to the job market and its effect on adult health: evidence from Brazil. Health Policy Plan 16(1):21–28

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Khakshour A, Ajilian Abbasi M, Sayedi SJ, Saeidi M, Khodaee GH (2015) Child labor facts in the worldwide: a review article. Int J Pediatr 3(1.2):467–473

    Google Scholar 

  • Kutcher S, Wei Y, Weist MD (eds) (2015) School mental health: global challenges and opportunities. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Lalor KJ (1999) Street children: a comparative perspective. Child Abuse Negl 23(8):759–770

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lenz AS, Hollenbaugh KM (2015) Meta-analysis of trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy for treating PTSD and co-occurring depression among children and adolescents. Counsel Outcome Res Eval 6(1):18–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liebel M (2015) Protecting the rights of working children instead of banning child labour. Int J Child Rights 23(3):529–547

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mallik S, Chaudhuri RN, Biswas R, Biswas B (2004) A study on morbidity pattern of child labourers engaged in different occupations in a slum are of Calcutta. J Indian Med Assoc 102(4):198–200

    Google Scholar 

  • Mathews R, Reis C, Iacopino V (2003) Child Labor. Journal of Ambulatory Care Management 26(2):181–182

    Google Scholar 

  • McKinney SJ, Hill RJ, Hania H (2015) Child slavery and child labour. Pastor Rev 11(2):54–60

    Google Scholar 

  • Mehta M, Prabha SV, Mistry HN (1985) Child labor in Bombay. Child Abuse and Neglect 9(1):107–111

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller CL, Duke G, Northam S (2016) Child sex-trafficking recognition, intervention, and referral: an educational framework for the development of health-care-provider education programs. J Hum Trafficking 2(3):177–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore JL, Houck C, Hirway P, Barron CE, Goldberg AP (2017) Trafficking experiences and psychosocial features of domestic minor sex trafficking victims. J Interpers Violence 1:0886260517703373. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517703373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munthali J (2018) Social Norms or Child Labour?: The Case of the Maasai Community in Kenya. In I. Tshabangu (Ed.), Global Ideologies Surrounding Children–s Rights and Social Justice (pp. 88–104). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-2578-3.ch006

  • Myers WE (2001) The right rights? Child labor in a globalizing world. Ann Am Acad Polit Soc Sci 575(1):38–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nichol S, Skipper S (2013) Child trafficking for sexual exploitation within the United Kingdom: a north western perspective. J Public Adm 48(1):89–104

    Google Scholar 

  • Nuwayhid IA, Usta J, Makarem M, Khudr A, El-Zein A (2005) Health of children working in small urban industrial shops. Occup Environ Med 62(2):86–94

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • O’Brien M (2014) The internet, child pornography and cloud computing: the dark side of the web? Inf Commun Technol Law 23(3):238–255

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Omokhodion FO, Omokhodion SI (2004) Health status of working and non-working school children in Ibadan, Nigeria. Ann Trop Paediatr 24(2):175–178

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Parveen S (2014) Conceptual meaning and definition of street children: worldwide. Sociology 12(11):78–80

    Google Scholar 

  • Poulatova C (2013) Children and armed conflict. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne

    Google Scholar 

  • Riverbank J, Martyn L, Whetten K, Vasudevan L (2018) A survey of health-care seeking practices and related stigma among community and street-based children in Cambodia. Int Health 10(3):211–213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robson E (2004) Hidden child workers: young carers in Zimbabwe. Antipode 36(2):227–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roggero P, Mangiaterra V, Bustreo F, Rosati F (2007) The health impact of child labor in developing countries: evidence from cross-country data. Am J Public Health 97(2):271–275

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Stoklosa H, Dawson MB, Williams-Oni F, Rothman EF (2017) A review of US health care institution protocols for the identification and treatment of victims of human trafficking. J Hum Trafficking 3(2):116–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sturrock S, Hodes M (2016) Child labour in low-and middle-income countries and its consequences for mental health: a systematic literature review of epidemiological studies. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 25(12):1273–1286

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Williams C (1993) Who are “street children?” a hierarchy of street use and appropriate responses. Child Abuse Negl 17(6):831–841

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wolff FC, Maliki (2008) Evidence on the impact of child labor in Indonesia, 1993–2000. Econ Hum Biol 6(1):143–169

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniel Fekadu .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Section Editor information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Fekadu, D., Nikapota, A. (2020). Street Children, Exploitation and Slavery. In: Taylor, E., Verhulst, F., Wong, J., Yoshida, K., Nikapota, A. (eds) Mental Health and Illness of Children and Adolescents. Mental Health and Illness Worldwide. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0753-8_17-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0753-8_17-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-0753-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-0753-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics