Human Trafficking in [Myanmar (Burma)] [other countries]
Street Children in [Myanmar (Burma)] [other countries]
Child Prostitution in [Myanmar (Burma)] [other countries]
 

Prevalence, Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children

Union of Myanmar (Burma) [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

The Union of Myanmar [map] is one of the largest countries in South East Asia. Ethnically diverse, Myanmar is a nation of many races - some 130 ethnic groups make up its population of nearly 45 million. It is bounded by Bangladesh, India, and the Bay of Bengal (W); by China (N & NE); by Laos and Thailand (E); and by the Andaman Sea (S). Its capital and largest city is Yangon (Rangoon). Burma is a resource-rich country that suffers from government controls, inefficient economic policies, and abject rural poverty. The junta took steps in the early 1990s to liberalize the economy after decades of failure under the "Burmese Way to Socialism", but those efforts have since stalled and some of the liberalization measures have been rescinded.

CAUTION:  The following links and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Burma. Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false.  No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content.

Quick Search for Missing Children - Select Gender, Country (Myanmar), and Years Missing

UNICEF - The Big Picture

Bur of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005

CHILDREN – Children under the age of 18 constituted approximately 40 percent of the population. Children were at high risk as destitute parents took them out of school to beg or to work in factories and teashops. Some were placed in orphanages. With few or no skills, increasing numbers of children worked in the informal economy or in the street, where they were exposed to drugs, petty crime, risk of arrest, sexual abuse and exploitation, and HIV/AIDS.

Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 1997

[10] The Committee, while recognizing the efforts undertaken by the State party in the collection of data, is concerned that the system of data collection does not adequately disaggregate information so as to reflect the situation of all children, particularly those belonging to the most disadvantaged groups, including children belonging to minority groups, children living in remote areas, disabled children, children living and/or working in the street, children placed in institutions, including institutions of a penal nature, ill-treated and abused children or children from economically disadvantaged groups. Such disaggregated data would contribute to the design of policies and programs for the effective and full implementation of the provisions of the Convention

Information about Street Children - Myanmar {DOC]

75% initial enrolment in primary school of which 25% drop out in 1st and 2nd year. Less than 50% of those remaining will complete primary school and fewer still will graduate to secondary school. Definitions and statistics: World Vision Myanmar has worked with almost 2,000 children over the past five years in two drop-in centers. The government established ten training schools for boys and girls around the country. Many of these children could be classified as street children.

Children Find Refuge From Harsh Life On The Streets

Their deaths left eight children in an extremely precarious situation. With no income and no social welfare system to fall back on, the children had to fend for themselves. As their situation worsened, both boys abandoned school. They could no longer pay the school fees, or cover the cost of school uniforms, books and lunches. Their other siblings also needed them to earn money.
San Aung says he would have liked to be a doctor They live on the streets of Yangon, trying to scrape together a living by working, stealing, or scavenging among the leftovers at one of the city’s main markets.

Child Soldiers In Myanmar's Front Line

HUMAN SHIELDS - While some children are recruited voluntarily for Myanmar's armed forces, others, especially orphans and street children are vulnerable to what is called "forced recruitment. Under this scheme, local authorities in Myanmar are required to provide the government with a certain quota of recruits, the report says, and are fined if they fail. A lot of these children are street children.

Chapter 3 - Nature and Extent of the Problem

3.1 CHILD LABOR EXPLOITATION IN MEKONG SUBREGION - In Myanmar, there are visibly street children in Yangoon. Approximately more than 100 children, many of whom were apparently under 10 years of age, were present around the central market areas at communities the Thai research team made visits to.

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Human Trafficking in [Myanmar (Burma)] [other countries]
Street Children in [Myanmar (Burma)] [other countries]
Child Prostitution in [Myanmar (Burma)] [other countries]