Two boys and a girl between nine and sixteen years of age live under an unused bus shelter in Bangalore. They share food, habits, and the substance they are addicted to. The girl’s biological mother is the only adult they have contact with. The mother begs and prostitutes herself for a living. The children collect plastic waste to sell, steal and sell sexual favors. They have all spent time in shelter homes, and have all run away. They prefer being in the street because of the "freedom" it offers.
Street children are abjectly neglected children who are deprived of the affection of responsible adults, who are barely visible except when they are considered a threat or a nuisance. If social service organizations do not disrupt their initiation to life on the street, they become addicted to it. In order to deal with the dangers of street life, they join gangs and learn strategies such as "sex for comfort, pleasure or money" and "drugs for loss of pain." AIDS is just one of the diseases they fall prey to.
Street children routinely have and 'buy' sex under the influence of drugs and their peers. Girls are the most abused. Seeking protection, they join a gang and even the same band members use them. These girls have no knowledge of protective measures and are highly susceptible to HIV infection.
Vasudev Sharma, president of the Child Welfare Committee in Bangalore, says: "Many people think that boys are safe, but boys are just as susceptible to abuse, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, if not more. Boys are more prone to infection due to their limited knowledge and their addiction to 'sex for pleasure' from an early age".
Sharma states that neither the government nor private organizations know how many street children are HIV-positive. Homelessness is not accepted as a reason to test them. The situation is exacerbated by the taboos of Indian society around sexuality in general and the government’s stance in particular. According to field workers, social, religious and cultural barriers prevent an open discussion about the sexualized lives of street children.
Renu Appachu, director of Jagruthi Shelter, says: "There are between 30 and 40 HIV-positive children in my house of 100 children. The issue of street children’s vulnerability to HIV/AIDS is a ‘hidden time bomb’ that people in India do not yet recognise as a serious threat".
The children of construction workers also run the risk of getting lost in the streets of the cities their parents have migrated to in search of work. You can help to keep these children safe and enhance their chances of having better lives by contributing to Asha-Kiran's project Day Care Centers for the children of migrant workers, clicking on the link below.
Source: infochangeindia
