Over the past two decades, a lot of reforms have been introduced in the country, some of which have a positive effect on society, while others do not. But it became clear clearly that a layer of people appeared who were not at all fit for survival in modern conditions, they were not competitive in absolutely all areas of life. Their lifestyle is also called the "social bottom." They include: homeless, poor and homeless. According to some reports, their number is approaching 25% of the total population. And it seems that society has come to terms with this and takes the fact of homeless children for granted.
Terminology
In the media, homelessness and neglect are often confused, describing children who are seen as begging at the metro station, at the station. But few people know that some children ask for alms on the street during the day, and come home at night to spend the night, that is, they are actually under the supervision of their parents.
But homelessness is a social phenomenon in which the child loses all family ties and permanent residence. Such children themselves get food, live in places unsuitable for living, and obey informal laws.
In federal law No. 120-FZ, all concepts are clearly regulated and delimited:
- Neglected. This is a minor person for whom there is no control by the parents (due to non-performance or improper performance of their duties), but he has a permanent place of residence and parents or guardians.
- Homeless. It is also neglected, but without a permanent residence or stay. In fact, such a child can be called a "little bum."
Another broad category is children deprived of parental care. These are children who are in orphanages, not adopted, studying at military schools with full support of the state, and so on. But such children are at least supervised and do not belong to either the first or second category.
It is regrettable that usually all these concepts are confused, saying that homelessness is the scourge of our time and that there were fewer such children even after the war. In fact, not everything is so tragic, if you delve into the essence of the matter.
Why is this happening
Dysfunction in the family, as a rule, leads to difficulties in the development of the personality of the child. The provoking factors include constant conflicts in the family, poor attitude to the child. Moreover, the latter category refers not only to the lack of control, but also hyperprotection.
Homeless children usually appear in families where alcohol and / or drugs are abused. Where there is no material well-being or the family leads an abnormal lifestyle, for example, refugees or nomadic gypsies. In families where parents have mental disabilities, there is also a great risk that the child will go out.
The low cultural and social level of parents often causes homeless children. If parents cannot read and write, are not interested in anything, then they are unlikely to be able to give normal education to their child. Parents' heavy employment also often causes homelessness.
But the main reason is the negative psychological climate in the family. If there is no trust, love and affection, then children grow up with a constant sense of anxiety, often closed and cruel.
Post-war years
With the outbreak of World War II, a new surge in homelessness began in the USSR. It was a really difficult time for the whole country, and there is even some justification for this. The state, on an ongoing basis, nevertheless took measures to reduce the number of children on the streets, new laws were adopted, orphanages and colonies were opened.
In the postwar years, the situation only worsened. According to statistics, in the 60s of the last century, there were about 1 million children in orphanages.
A similar situation was observed before and after the revolution, but then less attention was paid to this issue.
Second surge
Economic and political disasters in any country are provoking factors that entail an increase in the number of offenses, a deterioration in the material well-being of citizens and, naturally, an increase in the neglect of minors. After the war, a second surge in homelessness was observed in the 1990s and 2000s.
People became poorer and poorer, on the background of which more and more mental illnesses appeared, many people had an unstable emotional state. Naturally, such problems in society could not but affect juveniles.
An important role in this was played by increased criminalization in society, prostitution and drug trafficking flourished. There are no true statistics on the homelessness of these years.
Present
Homelessness is indeed the problem of our society, but the scale of the modern catastrophe has not yet been established. There is a lot of data regarding the number of homeless children, but they are all so different that it is quite difficult to understand where the truth is.
Perhaps this is due to the fact that the phenomenon itself is hidden or the calculation methods are different.
In 2002, B. Gryzlov named the figure of 2.5 million street children, and the Prosecutor General said that the figure was closer to 3 million.
According to official figures, in 2015 there were about 128 thousand homeless children. Although officials themselves admit that there is no single base for homeless children, this data does not at all reflect the real picture in society. And if we are talking about street and street minors, then we can talk about 2-4 million.
Modern statistics
To date, data are provided that are calculated according to the following formula: the number of street children per 10 thousand adolescents aged 10 to 19 = the number of street and street children found over 12 months / share of adolescents from 10 to 19 years in the population structure X total population.
According to these data, in 2017, for 10 thousand adolescents in the Republic of Tuva, the majority of minors in this category are 482.8, and the least in Ingushetia is 0.1.
Features
If you compare the homeless revolutionary, wartime and modern years - these are completely different psychotypes. Today, a child living on the street will not look after the dog, and if he even has it, he will most likely mock her.
Favorite food - chocolate bars and carbonated drinks, for such products do not mind the money. They eat alone so that food is not taken away or the purchase price is compared with the earned money.
Very talkative homeless people are very few, usually the vocabulary is very scarce. Due to frequent colds and nerves, the voice becomes hoarse. They rarely call each other by name, usually they say: “you” or “hey”, but they can also give nicknames based on the external characteristics of a particular child.
Modern street children are not annoying, unobtrusive, willingly communicate with people and journalists who in return give money or buy food.
If in former times children only stole on the streets, now the range of professions has expanded, they collect bottles, scrap metal, but they do not neglect petty thefts. Begging is usually practiced between the ages of 6 and 10 years. There is a category of “tenants”, that is, children (boys and girls) who provide sexual services to people of different sexes.
But the worst thing is that the "street children" become drug addicts and alcoholics in childhood, so they die early, and even if they are trying to return to normal life, this is very rarely possible.
