Transcript Child Exploitation & Begging In Ukraine

Street Children, Child
Exploitation & Begging
In Ukraine
A Guide for Volunteers, Teachers, Youth Workers
and Social Workers
•An Introduction into Street Children in Ukraine
•Ways to combat the issue in your Community
PRODUCED BY THE GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT
WORKING GROUP
What is Child Exploitation & Child Begging?
 Child exploitation: Any girl or boy who has not reached
adulthood, for whom the street (in the broadest sense of the
word, including unoccupied dwellings, wasteland, etc.) has
become her or his habitual abode and/or sources of
livelihood, and who is inadequately protected, supervised
or directed by responsible adults. Can be in many forms,
including sexual exploitation, forced labor, organ removal
and/or begging. The exploiter takes advantage of the child
for their own monetary gain. –Inter-NGO, UNICEF
 Child Begging: Children who ask for money, which in
most cases, goes to the exploiter, not the child. Some
children are exploited by their family members, and some
are exploited by traffickers who prey on children in need.
What children are most vulnerable to
exploitation and begging?
There are two main groups of children who are most
vulnerable to being exploited:
 Children that run away from home or that are kicked out,
due to problems in the home
 Children from Orphanages
Both groups become a part of
the category “Street Children”
as the streets are where
children from both groups
usually end up.
Problems in the Home
 80% of all street children in Ukraine have at least one alcoholic
parent and 7% of children in transit centers have never attended
school – in a country with a reported 99% literacy rate.
 Most families in Ukraine have to survive on less than $2 a day, and
there are estimated to be as many as 250,000 people on the street
in Ukraine. –Depaul International
 Kids become street children because of their family situation, or
lack there of (ie. Growing up in an orphanage). Children are able to
escape violence, alcoholic parents, and neglect by not living in their
homes. Many children are not aware that life on the street is one
that is hard to escape from.
Children in Orphanages
 Beds within orphanages are provided for every youth in Ukraine
without a family.
 Children are provided a bed until 18, where they are then
considered an adult. However, some leave to attend technical
school, which begins at 15 years old.
 Children in orphanages that are old enough for technical school
(which is provided by the government), are usually not given a
choice in their area of study. Some youth choose to leave the
schools and look for employment due to this lack of choice. This
leads many to life on the streets. (Depaul International)
 Many youth leave orphanages because of conflict with friends,
staff, and/or lack of freedoms and privacy. (Depaul
International)
Street Children
Definition of Street Children:
 The term ‘street children’ is
usually applied to children
under the age of 18, who
either live or make a living
on the streets, or are “street
connected”, meaning they
may not live on the streets
but whom the streets play a
significant role in their life.
 Children that are homeless,
lonely and deserted... most
of them are the victims of
their own families and
indifference of neighbors,
authorities and society.
Street Children
 Some may have family
connections and choose to run
away from home, others are
simply abandoned, and some
leave the orphanage they are
provided with. This can be due
to domestic violence,
indifference with family or
orphanage staff, and lack of
options/freedoms.
 For some youth, life on the
streets is a better situation than
being at home or in the care of
orphanages.
Street Children
They find refuge in basements,
attics and at the openings of
the heating system and sewers.
Most of their time they spend
at the markets, railway stations
or metro stations, where they
do whatever they can to get
money and food, including
begging and involvement in
prostitution.
They don't go to school and their
health condition is very bad.
Most of them need urgent
medical help. (SunshineKiev.org; interview with
Depaul International)
Problems Facing Street Children
 Street children are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse and drug
use, as well as being susceptible to TB, alcohol addiction, glue
sniffing, and crime. Most street children have to seek shelter from
the freezing winter temperatures by sleeping underground near hot
water mains, in cellars, and in railway stations. (Depaul
International)
Problems Facing Street Children
 HIV/Aids is a major issue in Ukraine, as it is growing
faster here than in any other place in the world. The
HIV epidemic in the region is driven by an explosive
mix of injecting drug use and, more recently, sexual
transmission.
 Children and young people, including those living on
the streets, constitute a group whose risk of
contracting HIV is particularly high. Today, one third
of new HIV infections in the region are among the 15–
24 age group and more than 80 per cent of people
living with HIV in the region are under 30 years old.
(Unicef report)
The Problem Globally
 Street Children face hardships and exploitation such as trafficking,
prostitution, child labor, sexual abuse, exposure to HIV/AIDS and
lack of medical attention to serious health issues.
 Estimating the number of street children is difficult due to the
transient lifestyle they lead and the debates surrounding the precise
definition of the term. Estimates are as high as 100-150 million
around the world.
(Sunshine-Kiev.org)
Resources for Street Children:
The Good and The Bad
 Organizations in Ukraine that work with street children are not allowed to
have over-night shelters (the government forbids it). They can only
provide short-term care such as drop-in centers that are during the day.
 There are transit centers that youth are brought to if they are picked up by
the police, need more intensive care that is not provided by orphanages, or
need a transition place before going home (after being on the street).
-They provide a secure shelter (locked from both the inside and
outside), as well as food and schooling.
-They also provide psychological care, and social workers to help
with family reunification.
The youth must stay in the shelter for 30 days, even if their family
situation is figured out.
Resources for Children (cont…)
 Hotlines: There are hotlines provided by La-Strada
Ukraine, for assistance with domestic violence and
human trafficking issues, or for advice:
386 or 0-800-500-3350 or 0 800-500-225
The number provided by
International Organization
for Migration for countertrafficking and migrant
advice:
527 or 0 800 500 501
Other Issues with Child Exploitation
 Not only are children being exploited for street begging, children
are also being exploited for organ donation. The following
stories were told by our contact from the A21 Campaign; she had
heard them from other organizations:
-A mom and daughter were shopping at the Dreamtown mall in Kiev, and
the mom turned to look at something. When she turned back, her
daughter was gone. The mother went to the mall security immediately and
ordered them to close all the doors and not to let anyone out. They found
the girl in the men’s bathroom, with a shaved head and wearing boy
clothes. The traffickers worked in organ exploitation.
-Boy children in communities are being approached by “futbol”
representatives that tell the kids they have talent. All they need is an exam
to make sure they are healthy enough to work with the representatives.
Kids are then brought to “work” with the representatives, never to return
home. Their healthy organs are sold on the black market.
Ways to Combat the Issue in Your Community:
A guide for Teachers, Social Workers, and Youth Workers
 The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
(UNCRC) state that all children have a right to prevention,
protection, participation and provision.
 We can work with governments. Where families and
communities are unable to care for children, it is the
responsibility of the government to provide special protection
and assistance to these children.
 We can work with the public, businesses and other charities.
By raising awareness and giving a voice to street children, we
can help to ensure their rights are not ignored.
 We can carry out research. By carrying out research we can
show where more support is needed and what approaches
work best in helping street children.
Ways to Combat the Issue in Your Community:
A guide for Teachers, Social Workers, and Youth Workers
Knowledge is Prevention!
 Teach youth about street children and what they can do to combat
the issue. We have provided lesson activities and a power point for
children to help discuss street children within schools.
 Teach youth in schools and orphanages on topics around respect,
positive conflict resolution, self-esteem, HIV/AIDS, personal safety,
human trafficking, and other healthy lifestyle topics.
 Train orphanage staff on street children and the issues youth face
while at orphanages. It may be a sensitive topic, so can also train
staff on youth development topics, as it may allow them to
understand the youth better (Project Respect, conflict resolution,
ect). Peace Corps has many resources to be utilized on sharepoint
and pcvukraine.org.
 Conduct community trainings for staff of schools and
administration. We have provided organizations who will conduct
trainings at no cost.
Organizations Who Provide Trainings
A21 Campaign: Their mission is to abolish slavery
by the end of the 21st Century. They operate
throughout Ukraine and conduct trainings on
trafficking prevention in
orphanages/schools/universities during the school
year as well as during camps in the summer.
Contact:
Kyra Gordon
A21 Ukraine Development
Manager
[email protected]
063-376-8104
Organizations Who Provide Trainings
La-Strada Ukraine: They provide trainings around many
topics within the realm of children and exploitation:
trafficking, child pornography, domestic and sexual violence,
and street children. They also have many materials and
pamphlets and will send them to anyone who would like
them, at no cost (however, the post office may charge a small
fee when picking up the package).
Contact:
 Oksana Yaselska [email protected]
 Victoria Kyzym [email protected]
Both can work with you on developing a training based on
your community needs!
Reporting Suspected Victims of Exploitation
 La Strada has a national hotline that is toll-free (0-800-500-225). If a victim
is reported to La-Strada, they will report it to the Social Department of
Ukraine.
 International Organization for Migration provides a hotline for countertrafficking and migrant advice. Can also report suspected victims. Call tollfree: 527 or 0 800 500 501.
 Also there is the specialized police unit in the Ministry of Interior of Ukraine
(38-044-374-37-79).
 The police (102). However, with the police they will not permit anonymity,
and will ask for your information.
Major tip on Reporting!
If someone reports a suspected victim or a victim known of being trafficked,
reporting should not be in any proximity to the possible victim. Victims who
are controlled by a pimp or trafficker are always being watched and it could be
a possible hostile situation to report near the victim. This is not to scare
people away from reporting, but we want everyone to be in a safe place, away
from the situation, when reporting.
Peace Corps Resources
If you have any further questions, please utilize the subcommittee Counter Human
Trafficking of the Gender and Development council. We are always willing to
answer questions or help you set up a training! Contact information is as follows:

Kali Sutton
Co-Chair of the CHT Subcommittee
[email protected];
Life 093-9454-957, MTC 095-0528-064

Elisia Morgani
Co-Chair of the CHT Subcommittee
[email protected]
Life 093-5396-897

[email protected]
General email for all Gender and Development council subcommittees
Also, there are many lesson plans and activities on the topic of human trafficking on
pcvukraine.org (Gender tabCounter Trafficking), and sharepoint (Volunteer
Resources PCV Resources  Resources By Topic  Human Trafficking).