Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Health Sciences Building, 155 College Street, 6th Floor, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, Canada.
Institute of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Medical Sciences Building, 1 King's College Circle, Room 2374, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada.
Child Abuse Negl. 2023 May;139:104803. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104803. Epub 2020 Nov 19.
The leading causes of street involvement worldwide are poverty, family conflict, and abuse. A common misconception is that street involvement is due to delinquency, a belief leading to social exclusion and social inequality for children in street situations (CSS). Exploring community perceptions of CSS and the reproduction of social difference and inequalities can help reduce stigma and discrimination.
To explore how stigma and discrimination of CSS was produced and reproduced in specific contexts of culture and power.
Social actors including CSS, healthcare providers, children's officers, and police officers in western Kenya.
Using a sociological conceptualization of stigma, this qualitative study explored the stigmatization processes that take shape in specific contexts of culture and power. We conducted 41 in-depth interviews and 7 focus group discussions with a total of 100 participants.
CSS were often labeled "chokoraa" or garbage picker, a label linked to undesirable characteristics constituting "evils" in society and stereotyped beliefs that they were "delinquents," reinforcing their "otherness" and devalued social status. CSS experienced individual and structural discrimination leading to exclusion from social and economic life.
CSS were stigmatized when labeled, set apart, and linked to negative characteristics leading to their experience of status loss and discrimination. CSS's differentness and devalued status served to limit their access to societal resources and deemed them unworthy of equal rights. Interventions involving various social actors are needed to challenge negative stereotypes, reduce stigma, and uphold CSS's human rights.
导致全世界街头流浪的主要原因是贫困、家庭冲突和虐待。一个普遍的误解是，街头流浪是由于犯罪行为造成的，这种观念导致处于街头环境中的儿童（CSS）被社会排斥和社会不平等。探索社区对 CSS 的看法以及社会差异和不平等的再现，可以帮助减少污名和歧视。
探索 CSS 的污名和歧视是如何在特定的文化和权力背景下产生和再现的。
社会行为者包括 CSS、医疗保健提供者、儿童官员和肯尼亚西部的警察。
使用社会学对污名的概念化，这项定性研究探讨了在特定的文化和权力背景下形成的污名化过程。我们对总共 100 名参与者进行了 41 次深入访谈和 7 次焦点小组讨论。
CSS 经常被贴上“chokoraa”或拾荒者的标签，这个标签与构成社会“邪恶”的不良特征以及他们是“不良少年”的刻板印象联系在一起，强化了他们的“他者”地位和被贬低的社会地位。CSS 经历了个人和结构性的歧视，导致他们被排除在社会和经济生活之外。
当 CSS 被贴上标签、被隔离并与负面特征联系在一起时，他们就会被污名化，导致他们失去地位和受到歧视。CSS 的特殊性和被贬低的地位限制了他们获得社会资源的机会，并使他们被视为不值得享有平等权利的人。需要涉及各种社会行为者的干预措施来挑战负面刻板印象，减少污名，维护 CSS 的人权。
