THE STUDY OF ASSOCIATION BETWEEN RISK BEHAVIORS AND LIVING SITUATIONS OF STREET CHILDREN IN URBAN SINDH

Abstract

Once a child leaves home – for whatever reason(s) – to live on the street, he/she is labeled as a street child. Despite the absence of authentic surveys, the number of street children in Urban Sindh is estimated to be no less than 50,000. Street children are the causalities of economic woes, family dis-organization, war, poverty, loss of traditional values, domestic violence and physical and psychological abuses. They seldom have a choice in becoming a straw in the wind – and going to school is always out of question. For kicks, these young
souls developed some behaviors those are risky for their lives as well as for society and product of situations where they forced to live. Health related risk behaviors like Drug abuse, Sex abuse, or survival sex, working at unhygienic conditions, getting contaminated food, and life threatening behaviors fighting, smuggling, steeling or involvement in gangues, are major risk behaviors among them. These risky behaviors are interrelated with each other and associated with situation where they are living. This paper is an exploratory study, Street
children of Urban Sindh was universe of the present study, structured interview schedule was developed for data collection, data was analysed through Statistical Package for Social Scientists version 14 (SPSSXIV), and, conclusions drawn and remedial measures are suggested.