Assessment of child abuse among street children: a case study of Dar es salaam city, Tanzania

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