• School enrollment low, attendance highly irregular, high tendency to drop out 
• Majority in slum areas with little to no access to drinking water
• Drinking water accessed via community or public wells/community hand pumps/stealing from railway premises
• Girls used both sanitary pads and cloths, 24% used only cloth pieces with them oft reusing same multiple times after washing
• 47.5% consumed alcohol/drugs/cannabis/tobacco
• 36.5% involved in begging/stealing/gambling/pickpocketing
• People refer to them commonly as a beggar/thief/criminal/drug addict/pickpocket/gambler

Income earning activities are adopted by street children as coping mechanisms. These include cleaning cars, buses and trains, working in small hotels, tea stalls and garages, disposing waste, begging, rag picking, any available work such as domestic and factory work, and vending. 

These findings were made in an article on "Challenges and coping strategies of street children: Findings from a field study in the Colombo City" which was authored by S. Hariharathamotharan, and published in the National Institute of Social Development's Journal of Social Sciences' Third Volume's Second Issue, last month (November 2025).

The presence of children in the streets in unaided and unprotected environments reflects the problems of profound deprivation and disparity in society. Children are given paramount importance in the course of the development of countries worldwide, but, ironically, children using the streets as their abode and workplace indicates the acute misery of millions of children around the world. Unlike every child who has the absolute right to start a healthy life and to enjoy a safe and secure childhood that transforms the child into a productive and prosperous adult, the children living on the streets are deprived of their basic rights and needs.

They are not only denied the right to live in the institution of the family, but are also compelled to survive on the streets, begging for their fundamental rights. The phenomenon of street children is largely an urban phenomenon, primarily stemming from the industrial revolution. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), street children are both girls and boys who are below 18 years of age, who work on the streets or in unorganised sectors, and live on the street or in a transitory abode, alone or with their families.

The UNICEF further divides street children into three categories: those who work on the street and mostly return to their families at the end of the day; those who live, work, and sleep on the street without family support; and those abandoned, who have no ties with their biological families and are completely on their own, not only for material survival but also for emotional and psychological support, and the latter include orphans, runaways, and children who are lost or destitute.

Street children are a mobile population, with extreme wandering lifestyles. However, according to UN estimations, there are 150 million street children in the world. The phenomenon of street children is multifaceted and a result of a complex interplay of several factors, mainly related to poverty and its interconnected elements such as neglect or abuse, abandonment, and also modernisation. These factors can be categorised as push and pull factors. Push factors include poverty and economic necessity, and family-related factors such as violence, family disintegration, a large family size, etc. On the other hand, pull factors include urbanisation, peer influence, or the lure of independence.

There are an estimated 100 million street children globally (S.T. Benítez's "State of the world’s street children: Violence"), nearly 20% of who are in South Asia (the Asian Development Bank's "Urban poverty in Asia"). The number of street children in Sri Lanka is estimated to be 15,000 (B.V.N. Wijewardana's "Deviant behaviours of street children: With special reference to Colombo Fort and Pettah"). Most of these street children are concentrated in the City of Colombo which, being a busy commercial hub, provides space and a cultural and socio-economic environment suitable for their sustenance.

Street children face a broad range of challenges beginning with their struggle to meet basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, education, sanitation, etc., as a result of which they suffer from multiple health problems. They suffer from nutritional deficiencies, infectious diseases, unintentional injuries or self-mutilation, stunted growth, etc. Moreover, both boys and girls on the streets are victims of physical, mental, and sexual abuse. Consequently, to cope with these harsh realities, street children often resort to illegal activities such as begging, stealing, pickpocketing, and drug abuse, which further deteriorate their health conditions. This, in turn, leads to their exclusion and stigmatisation by mainstream society. 

Street children represent one of the most vulnerable and marginalised populations in urban societies, often deprived of basic rights such as shelter, education, healthcare, and family support. These children face severe challenges, including abuse, malnutrition, exploitation, and social exclusion, often resorting to begging, petty crime, and substance abuse as coping mechanisms. Interventions remain fragmented and insufficient. 

They are compelled to live hazardous and inadequate lifestyles on the streets, where they are not only deprived of their basic rights and amenities but also became victims of abuse and maltreatment. Over time, they gradually fall into the trap of illegal activities such as begging, stealing, pickpocketing, or drug peddling in order to survive. This eventually leads to their exclusion and stigmatisation by the mainstream society. However, despite these adversities, they demonstrate a complex set of coping mechanisms through which they navigate the hardships of their daily lives.

Methodology

The area of Hariharathamotharan’s study was the Colombo City, where street children were approached by working with them. Three service-providing organisations served as key access points to reach the target population. The study covered children in two categories - ‘on the street’ and ‘of the street’. The children were within the age group of five to 18 years. The simple random sampling method was used to draw the study sample. The sample size was limited to 200 respondents. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data. In addition, non-participant observation was adopted to gain access to the respondents’ natural behaviours in an uninterrupted environment. 

The socio-demographic profile of the respondents

A total of 200 participants were selected. A significant proportion were aged five–nine years (98/49.1%), followed by those aged 10–14 years (89/44.6%), while 13/6.3% were aged 15–18 years. The number of boys (104/51.8%) was slightly higher than that of girls (96/48.2%). In terms of religion, most respondents were Buddhist (145/72.5%), while 55/27.5% were Muslim. With regard to education, 120/59.9% of the respondents were enrolled in the formal education system, whereas 80/40.1% had not received formal education but had participated in non-formal educational programs provided by the organisations involved in the study. Among the 120 enrolled in formal schooling, a majority were studying in Classes One–Five (77/63.9%), while 29/24.1% were at the pre-school level, and nine/7.5% were in Classes Six–Eight. Only five/4.5% had reached the high school level.

Overall, school enrollment among street children in the study area was low. Furthermore, most of those enrolled in formal education were concentrated in the Lower Primary Grades, and their school attendance was highly irregular, with a high tendency to drop out from formal schooling.

Factors for becoming street children

Every child living on the streets has their own unique reason for being there. The immediate causes of their connection to street life vary from place to place and person to person. However, these reasons are broadly linked to poverty and its interrelated factors. Poor infrastructure, the lack of basic amenities, and unemployment often lead to dysfunctional families, domestic violence or abuse, parental neglect, child malnutrition, the lack of education, and child labour. Consequently, many children are compelled to enter the street life as a means of survival.

The work profile of the respondents

All respondents were engaged in various income-earning activities, most of which were temporary and hazardous in nature. A significant proportion reported being engaged in begging (44/22.1%), followed by rag picking (28/14%). Additionally, 22/10.8% reported doing any available work to earn money. Smaller numbers worked in small hotels or tea stalls (seven/3.6%), vending (five/2.7%), cleaning trains or buses (four/1.8%), or in car washing centres (two/1%). The remaining 88/44.1% were involved in other types of work, including domestic work, factory work, the disposing of dead animals, or handling other waste materials.

Most of these children worked between five–nine hours per day (129/64.4%), while 71/35.6% worked up to four hours per day.

Despite long working hours, the earning capacity was very low. The majority earned between Rs. 501–1,500 per day (115/57.6%), while 67/33.3% earned less than Rs. 500 per day. Only 15/7.6% earned between Rs. 1,501–2,500, and two/1% earned Rs. 2,501–3,000 per day. One respondent did not know her daily income, as it was directly transferred to her father by her employer. These findings clearly demonstrate the low earning capacity of street children despite their long working hours.

Access to basic amenities

Regarding access to basic amenities, 35/17.6% received their food from their parents, 25/12.6% purchased food themselves, and 22/10.8% received it from their employers. The remaining 118/59% reported obtaining food from multiple sources, including parents, employers, purchasing it themselves, hotel owners in exchange for chores, temples, or through begging. A significant proportion (68/34.2%) reported missing at least one meal per day due to the lack of money, the unavailability of food, the lack of appetite, or illness or injury. With regard to living conditions, the majority (173/86.5%) lived in slum areas, where they had little or no access to basic services such as drinking water, sanitation, hygiene facilities, electricity, or sewage systems. These children mostly resided in overcrowded and unhygienic environments, surrounded by dirt and filth. The remaining 27/13.5% had no permanent place to stay and mostly lived in railway premises, bus terminals, or near temples. 

Hygiene and sanitation

Every child has the right to grow up in a clean, safe, and healthy environment. Access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities supports better health and overall development. However, street children faced significant challenges in their daily lives due to limited or no access to hygiene and sanitation facilities. Out of the 200, a majority (82/41%) reported having no access to any structured toilet facilities, followed by community toilets (66/33%), public toilets (24/12%), and paid toilets such as those of the Municipal Council (Sulabh Sauchalay) (two/1%). The remaining 26/13% accessed toilets from other sources, such as hotels, workplaces, or open pit latrines. Regarding bathing practices, 72/36% bathed using railway supply water, followed by community wells (38/19%) and community tube wells (24/12%). Additionally, 12/6% bathed near schools, and the remaining 56/28% used multiple places such as bus terminals, the railway water supply, lakes, or hotels, depending on the availability. For drinking water, 76/38% accessed it from community or public wells, 38/19% from various public places, and 26/13% from community hand pumps. Meanwhile, 25/13% reported stealing drinking water from railway premises, and the remaining 37/18% obtained water from multiple sources such as schools, hotels, temples, parks, or employers. Menstrual hygiene management was also assessed among adolescent girls. Out of the 58 girls, a majority (35/60%) used both sanitary pads and cloths, 14/24% used only cloth pieces, and the remaining nine/16% used sanitary pads exclusively. Interviews revealed that the girls using cloth often reused the same cloth multiple times after washing, which increased their vulnerability to urinary tract infections. The lack of money was the primary reason compelling girls to reuse cloth.

Abuse and violence

Street children are exposed to severe forms of abuse, violence, and maltreatment in their daily lives, which adversely affect both their physical well-being and mental development. It was found that Police harassment was reported by 75/37.5%, while theft affected 66/33%. Threats to life were reported by 34/17%, and the remaining 25/12.5% faced abuse from street goons, other street boys, or employers, with some fearing abduction. Regarding physical abuse, 104/52% reported personally experiencing it, whereas 43/21.5% had not experienced it themselves but had observed or heard about such incidents occurring to friends or other street children. Out of the 200, 95/47.5% reported consuming alcohol, drugs, cannabis, or tobacco, often influenced by friends, other street children, shopkeepers, or street goons. In contrast, 75/37.5% reported experimenting with such substances by observing friends, parents, or other family members, without direct coercion. In terms of involvement in anti-social activities such as begging, stealing, gambling, or pickpocketing, 73/36.5% admitted to participating in these activities to survive, while 90/45% had observed or heard about such behaviours among their peers. Regarding sexual abuse, 51/25.5% reported experiencing sexual abuse at least once while living on the streets, and 100/50% had witnessed or heard about such incidents occurring to other street children.

Experiences of stigmatisation

Stigmatisation refers to the act of treating someone unfairly or negatively due to societal disapproval. It is an attribute that is deeply humiliating and, in the eyes of the society, serves to diminish the person who experiences it. Children living on the streets, who are poor and homeless, are particularly vulnerable to social stigmatisation in Sri Lanka. Children were asked how people referred to them, and it was revealed that they were commonly called singanna (beggar), hora (thief), aparadhakaraya/aparadhakaruwa (criminal), mathata abbahi (drug addict), pickpocket, or suduwa (gambler). One respondent said: “People are unfair towards us. They accuse us of pickpocketing, using drugs, or even gambling. Initially, I felt sad about the way that people treated me, but now, I've grown accustomed to it. It doesn’t affect me anymore.”

Another respondent added: “People don't treat us well. They suspect us of every crime in the community. They call us beggars, or drug users. It is excruciating. A few days ago, when I went to a shop, the shopkeeper called me a pickpocket. I was very angry, but, I couldn't express it. I just tried to ignore him.”

These findings illustrate the wide range of challenges that street children face in their daily lives in Sri Lanka. To cope with these difficulties, street children develop several survival strategies.

Coping mechanisms adopted by street children

With regard to the lack of access to basic amenities, it was revealed that street children generally exercised patience and endured problems until they could find a solution. For instance, to manage their food crisis, many children skipped meals or relied on multiple sources such as begging (35%), buying food at the lowest price (15%), receiving food from hotel owners in exchange for chores (12%), collecting food from temples (10%), or taking leftover food from trains and hotels (28%). This strategy of patience and endurance was commonly adopted not only to meet basic needs but also in various aspects of their daily lives. To survive on the streets, the children engaged in different income-earning activities, mainly those that required little or no capital, minimal skills, and were easily accessible. These included cleaning cars, buses, or trains (22%), working in small hotels or garages (10%), car washing (8%), and the disposing of waste (15%). To cope with hunger and stress, some children resorted to substance use, including glue sniffing (12%) and consuming alcoholic products (10%).

Another significant coping strategy was mutual support. Street children-built rapport with peers, older street boys, or their mothers for emotional support. Regarding health issues, they adopted strategies that were inexpensive and easily accessible, such as buying medicines from pharmacies (32%), visiting traditional healers (28%), using leftover medicines from friends or family (15%), or sometimes not taking any treatment at all (25%).

Group cohesion was a crucial strategy for addressing abuse and harassment on the streets. By staying together, they received mutual support and protection, fostering a strong sense of companionship. To avoid physical abuse, children often avoided known aggressors, changed locations when threatened, or stayed away from places where abuse frequently occurred. Additionally, some respondents reported cooperating and working with the Police to prevent harassment and to build a rapport for safety.

Conclusion

To effectively address this problem, structural changes are required, including the equitable redistribution of resources among all sections of society, particularly marginalised communities. Empowering marginalised populations with adequate resources and opportunities is essential to combat the street children phenomenon successfully.