Profile of Activities and Magnitude of Abuse Among Street Children in Ludhiana City: A Situational Analysis

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Date
2014
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Publisher
PAU
Abstract
The present study was undertaken to determine the profile of activities and magnitude of abuse among street children in Ludhiana city on a sample consisting of 160 children (9-12 years) equally distributed over gender. A Personal Information Sheet and a self-structured Interview Schedule were used to document the demographic profile and information relating to the causal factors leading children to street, activities performed by them and the nature and magnitude of abuse experienced by them. The sample was selected from various crowded places of Ludhiana city viz railway station, bus depots, traffic lights, market places, temples, etc using a snowball sampling technique which included home based children engaged in street work. Results revealed that more than seventy nine per cent children (79.37%) were found to be on street due to prospect of income besides other reasons; lack of support from parents, alcoholic nature and abusive behavior of father, broken family, parental unemployment, forced to go to street and non-availability of residence. A higher proportion of the children (31.25%) were found to be engaged in street vending (selling low-priced items such as toys, city maps, eatables, newspapers, making and selling garlands etc.), followed by begging (28.75%) and rag picking (18.75%). About sixteen per cent (16.25%) of them reported to be performing more than one activity (begging as well as rag picking, shoe shinning as well as making garlands, etc.) on the street. Majority of them (92.50%) experienced abuse by their parents. Scolding was the most predominantly used method of punishment by the fathers (77.02%) towards the children followed by spanking/slapping (54.72%), beating (43.92%), verbally abusing and kicking. Similarly scolding was also a prominent method of punishment used by mothers (89.86%) followed by spanking/slapping (41.21%), twisting ears or hands, yelling and beating. Parents were found to be equally punitive towards younger and older children. However, fathers were found to be yelling more on boys whereas girls experienced more of hair pulling by the mothers. More than forty per cent (42.56 %) children reported to be punished frequently that is once in a week because of varied reasons. Children (45.00%) also faced problems with police personnel in some or the other way such as being interrogated, chased away, humiliated, advised against begging, punished physically while on street.
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Keywords
manpower, biological phenomena, economic systems, sampling, marketing, wells, economics, selection, self help, research methods
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