Assessment Of Child Abuse Among Street Children: A Case Study Of Dar Es Salaam City, Tanzania

ABSTRACT

Child abuse among street children is a social problem which violates children’s rights and affects their development. This study assesses child abuse among street children in Dar es Salaam city. Specific objectives of the research were to analyze types of child abuse experienced by street children, determine factors contributing to increasing child abuse among street children, identify methods used by street children to escape child abuse, and examine immediate consequences of child abuse on street children. The study was conducted in Kinondoni and Ilala municipalities of the city. A cross sectional design was adopted. A representative sample of 100 respondents was drawn from a sampling frame through snowballing. The research methodologies employed were both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The methods used under qualitative methodology were Focus Group Discussion and researcher’s observations. Under quantitative methodology, questionnaires with closed and open ended questions were used to collect data. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) for Windows Version 12.0 was used for data analysis. Street children were subjected to all three types of child abuse: verbal abuse (98%), physical abuse (94%) and sexual abuse (88%). Some of the factors contributing to increasing incidents of child abuse are illegal trades done by street children, negative perception of the public towards street children and child abuse is beneficial to perpetrators. Methods used by street children to escape child abuse include running away, using of drugs and offering bribes. Immediate consequences of child abuse include street children being at risk of HIV infection. The study recommends that the Government and NGOs should educate street children so as to increase their awareness about child abuse and should educate the public so as to change negative perception of the public that street children are young criminals.