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In the early period of human history, when neither classical slavery nor wage slavery existed, all individuals forming a community, nuclear or extended family, contributed according to their abilities and powers to the satisfaction of the vital needs of the group. The male workers are the first group of people who work for wages, the second are the female workers who are employed less than the male workers and the third is the group of child workers who are the cheapest of all. Child labour in the street economy is the smallest unit of society which has been used for centuries to meet the vital needs of the family. This use of child labour takes the form of unpaid domestic labour in micro-enterprises such as agriculture, business administration and handicrafts, which can be seen as an example of a closed economy. The work of a girl helping her mother with the housework, the work of a boy helping his father in the vineyard and gardening and the work of a child helping the family in the grocery shop or working for a carpenter are valued in this framework. In addition, to earn direct additional financial income, apprenticeship for pay, work in a workshop, helping with daily house cleaning and child labour in the form of a daily wage are defined as child labour. In addition, to earn their own pocket money, contribute to the family budget or meet school expenses, peddling, shining shoes and selling the family's vineyard and garden produce on the street and in squares in their own name and for their own account are classified as child labour in the street economy. This study is a literature review on child labour in the street economy with national and global examples.

This research aims to explore childhood construction in the Afghan refugee community living in Pakistan. Young Afghan people aged 12–18 who were working on the streets participated in the generation of data for this study in 2019. Ethnographic research approaches with semi-structured in-depth interviews and field observations were used to obtain real insights. Young Afghan refugees have been a constant phenomenon on the streets for decades in the twin cities of Pakistan – Rawalpindi and Islamabad – where this research was conducted and are involved in different street-based casual activities. The findings show that young people face discrimination and exclusion from the mainstream of society due to their undefined citizenship status and poverty. Parents see their children as dependents and as assets for their old age, and children and young people need to work to support their families who live in poverty. In fulfilling their filial responsibilities, young people sacrifice their schooling and have limited opportunities to learn new skills. It is concluded that the government and other international institutions with responsibility for setting policies and creating programs for young Afghan refugees need to understand the dynamics of the families in which the young people live and how these families inculcate them with their generational values.

There is a Turkish proverb commonly used for gratitude: ‘nothing so bad but it might have been worse’. Actually, how worse the situation can get for the children living and working on the street as an image of visible poverty of the cities. The children who settle in the streets, who live in the streets, who work or force to work in the streets are the ones affected by the negativeness that COVID-19 created. Their living conditions became harder and crueller. Children who live and work on the streets have not only had socio-economic problems but also educational medical problems, etc. It is a social truth that these children are the most affected disadvantaged group in the battle of pandemic. In this context, especially before and after pandemic, how the life is affected and the change that it brings is very remarkable. However, the detrimental effect on the negativity in societal terms is inevitable. In this study, children living, working, and being forced to work in the streets are defined cognitively, their status quo in the society, their form of life, their educational, medical, criminal, and family cultural relationships are described; evaluation of pandemic process’s influences on ‘the new normal’, the social change and transformation in regarding to human and child rights are discussed.

What is discussed in this chapter is work-in-progress, an opportunity for reflection upon elements of an on-going research project examining the lives of street children in Accra, Ghana. Street children have received much research in recent years but our project is, we believe, distinctive in two respects. The first of these is that access to reliable data on the growing presence of children on the streets of African cities is often problematic. Available research is often diffuse and hard to access, it is more often than not driven by the short-term requirements of specific programmes and interventions and as a consequence can be lacking in depth, rigour and innovation. Without the means to provide a sufficiently self-conscious and critical engagement with accepted understandings of the lives of street children, consideration of the experience of street children in Africa continues to rely heavily on the more capacious and better disseminated research from the Americas (e.g., Mickelson, 2000). At the very least, Africa's specific experience of large population displacements, diversity of family forms, rapid urbanisation, vigorous structural adjustment and internal conflict raise important questions about the appropriateness of such ready generalisations. Judith Ennew (2003, p. 4) is clear that caution is needed in an uncritical endorsement of the “globalisation of the street child based on Latin American work”. She is equally mindful, however, that as far as Africa is concerned the absence of reliable evidence continues to hinder debate.

All sectors have been affected economically due to the COVID-19 epidemic that we have experienced since the beginning of 2020. As a natural reflection of this, we know that unemployment is rising. The street economy is both a shelter for the workforce pushed from other sectors and for the existing workers. However, we do not know much about the current situation and problems of this industry all over the world. Of course, the investment required to determine with full accuracy the components of the street economy (how many people, where they work, and what are the characteristics of these people), which have a very dynamic structure, are usually based on social needs, is very large. However, by photographing the street economy on a regional basis, today the need to regulate this sector, which has more impact on the mental and physical health of both the individual and society than ever before, is strongly manifested. In this study, a systematic layout proposal was tried to be proposed for this arrangement.

This article considers the likely success of recent reforms of prostitution policy by reflecting on a recent Joseph Rowntree Foundation‐funded study that examined the experiences of those living and working in areas of street sex work. This empirical work points to some of the dangers of policy frameworks and techniques of control that continue to situate sex work as antithetical to the cultivation of community safety.

The presence of child labour in the world and Turkey is an undeniable social fact. There are various regulations regarding the protection of children both in international documents and in our national legislation. However, in the context of the street economy, some legal regulations, especially the occupational health and safety of children working on the street, remain incapable in terms of implementation. In this study, child labour regulations of various international organisations, including the International Labor Organization relating to child labour will be examined first, and then the existing regulations on child labour in Turkey in our working legislation will be analysed and explained. A number of actions that children working on the street who are street vendors tend to take, such as shining shoes, selling handkerchiefs, and begging, will be discussed in detail and the legal dimension will be examined. In addition, some legal changes will be addressed, such as the lack of a uniform regulation on the minimum working age and the confusion of child labour and child labour concepts. Finally, in the pandemic process that affects the whole world, the measures that are thought to be useful in terms of protecting children working on the street from the COVID-19 epidemic will be tried to be explained in the context of occupational health and safety law.

The purpose of this paper is to identify elements of success in the family reintegration of children with street connections who have experienced chronic violence and loss in the context of poverty. This paper outlines the application of complex trauma theory into a practice model developed by the JUCONI Foundation in Puebla, Mexico to help children and families prepare and manage reintegration.

This is a 15-month qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews with families and boys at three stages: preparing for return, in the first three months of reintegration and successfully reintegrated. The study comprises interviews with frontline workers and focus group discussions with the project team. In addition, six youths who did not return to their families were interviewed.

The study focuses on an attachment and trauma-based approach to family reintegration of street-connected children outside parental care. The findings highlight the need for careful preparation of both child and families (including siblings/extended family) prior to reunification. Preparation needs to focus on resolving the underlying problems that have led to the child being on the street and “phased” reintegration (beginning with visits to the family) is recommended. Follow-up visits/family work by staff are usually essential to ensure that child/youth and family adjust to each other. The theoretical framework and rationale behind the use of the tools and strategies described needs to be understood, so that they are used intentionally and consistently.

The study cohort involved only boys and other factors are likely to affect the reintegration of girls. The study took place in Mexico only and methods used by JUCONI need to be tested in other contexts.

The integration of children without parental care into families is an issue of critical interest, but there is currently very limited research or guidance on reintegration of children who have lived on the street, especially in low and middle income countries. The study should be of interest to practitioners interested in assessing whether safe and sustainable reintegration is possible and facilitating this. The paper may be of interest to practitioners working with children growing up without parental care who do not have “street connections”, but who have experienced chronic violence and loss.

This is the first study to describe the application of an attachment and trauma perspective to work with children who have lived on the street.

Informal street vending is traditionally widespread and studied concerning developing countries. Nevertheless, recently, interest in the study of this practice has also increased regarding specific developed countries. The aim of the article is to contribute to overcoming the tendency to investigate this informal economy sector with different analytical lenses between the global South and global North and to highlight the usefulness of analyzing the phenomenon from a comparative perspective.

Therefore, the article represents a comparative review of the existing literature on informal street vending considering both the global South and global North.

The analysis revealed similarities and differences in the characteristics the phenomenon assumes in the two areas of the world while at the same time, showing how there are aspects mainly explored in the literature of southern countries and little explored in the literature of northern countries and vice-versa.

This analytical attempt allows us to highlight any gaps present in the literature, which may represent the basis for future comparative research on the topic. Comparative research will improve both theoretical and empirical knowledge of the phenomenon.

On the one hand, the article represents an innovative literature review attempt, as it explicitly compares the street vending between developing and developed countries. On the other hand, it represents the first academic contribution to review street vending in the global North.

Corona has been used as a mask for the deepening crisis of the capitalist system. It deepened the damage of those who suffered the most from the system. It deepened the harm of precarious street workers even more, making living conditions difficult. Not enough resources were allocated to street workers, only pocket money and food packages. At the same time, the Corona crisis strengthened the streets, making the street more visible. Street workers prevented inflation by providing goods and food at low prices in poor neighbourhoods throughout the stay period. Many products with scarcity supplied by street workers. Millions of unemployed people became entrepreneurs in the form of new simple street jobs. Increasing number of street entrepreneurs attracted local governments. Local governments developed projects to regulate the sales by street vendors. Very small-scale street entrepreneurs also developed a sense of solidarity by establishing cooperatives among themselves. The surveys showed that the poor were in solidarity with street vendors. Even street vendors bought products directly from producers who could not sell their products, distributed for free in poor neighbourhoods or sold at half the price of markets. Street economy is the most important component of the social economy. It was once again understood that the streets are not a problem but, the system created the problem. Street economy is not a problem. It is a spontaneous solution to the problems and crises of capitalism.