Deprivation among children living and working on the streets of Harare

Figures & data

Table 1. Children's reasons for being on the streets (N = 100).

Reasons	% of children
Earning income for self	24
Abused by parents or guardians	23
Earning income for family	22
Orphanhood	16
Dumped or chased away by relatives	6
Came with mother or mother's influence	3
Mischief, came with friends	3
Committed an offence and ran away	2
No money for rent	1
Total	100

Source: Specialised Urban Poverty Study data.

Table 2. Children sleeping at home, by gender.

	Girls		Boys		Total
Sleep at home	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Yes	17	68.0	18	24.0	35	35.0
No	7	28.0	50	66.7	57	57.0
Sometimes	1	4.0	7	9.3	8	8.0
Total	25	100.0	75	100.0	100	100.0

Source: Specialised Urban Poverty Study data.

Notes: Pearson chi²(2) = 15.9562, Pr = 0.000.

Table 3. Places to sleep on the streets.

Location on the street	Number	%
Doorstep or pavement of buildings	30	46.2
Empty commercial building	16	24.6
Cardboard structure	4	6.2
Under a bridge	3	4.6
Under a tree	3	4.6
Alley	2	3.1
Other	7	10.7
Total	65	100.0

Source: Specialised Urban Poverty Study data.

Notes: Pearson chi²(6) = 14.1784, Pr = 0.028.

Table 4. Claimed mean monthly income from economic activities, by school attendance (N = 93).

	Number of children	Mean monthly income (US$)	Standard deviation	Minimum (US$)	Maximum (US$)
Going to school	19	277.6	609.7	25	2 700
Not going to school	74	181.7	479.7	5	3 900

Source: Specialised Urban Poverty Study data.

Table 5. Expenditure per month (N = 100) (multiple responses).

Expenditure	Number of children	Mean per month (US$)	Standard deviation	Minimum (US$)	Maximum (US$)
Food	60	46.37	46.80	1.00	300
Clothing	43	18.60	18.36	1.00	75
Given to parents or guardians	13	61.92	83.92	5.00	300
Rent	11	28.64	10.98	10.00	50
School fees	8	37.00	46.57	6.00	150
Business stock	6	53.83	65.42	8.00	180
Gambling	6	35.50	34.43	5.00	90
Vending fine	4	20.50	7.37	12.00	30
Other	6	92.80	109.23	2.00	300

Source: Specialised Urban Poverty Study data.

Table 6. Child protection and safety issues reported (N = 100) (multiple responses).

Issue	% of children
Experienced verbal or psychological abuse	73
Attacked by other children living and working on the streets	53
Experienced physical abuse by the public	40
Forced to do hard work	25
Hit by a car when walking	18
Sexual abuse by other children living and working on the streets	13
Sexual abuse by the public	7
Involved in a car accident when in a kombi or car	5

Source: Specialised Urban Poverty Study data.

Table 7. Negative behaviour reported by children (N = 100) (multiple responses).

Type of behaviour	% of children
Violence among themselves on streets	62
Smoked mbanje	26
Smoked cigarettes	25
Had sex with other children living and working on the streets	23
Stole from other children living and working on the streets	21
Been involved in crime	21
Drank alcohol	18
Had sex with members of the public	15
Took drugs (other than mbanje)	14
Sniffed glue	6

Source: Specialised Urban Poverty Study data.