Risk factors for work on the street in Roma children population in Serbia

Abstract

Children involved in any kind of work on the street experience a wide range of problems of different types that can permanently disable the emergence of a vicious circle of poverty and social exclusion. Emotional and health problems, lack of access to education and inadequate education, high levels of violence, exploitation and discrimination are just some of the difficulties these children encounter every day. According to various data, these children mostly belong to the Roma ethnic group, and as one of the leading risk factors for the emergence of child labor, the context of the lives of Roma as a socially and economically deprived social group is being considered. From the stand-point that the first step in preventing the child labor of children from the Roma ethnic group is an insight into the key segments that create and contribute to the problem, the goal of the work, besides analyzing the general risk factors for the emergence of child labor through available research, is the analysis of health, social, educational and the housing situation of the Roma ethnic group as a prerequisite for creating a policy to improve the quality of life of Roma families and children who are socializing in these families. This would have influenced the risk factors of child labor, which indirectly, at a wider social level, would have prevented this phenomenon. The methods used in the paper are the synthesis of empirical findings and analysis of the content of relevant publications and national documents of importance for improving the situation of socially sensitive groups. In the concluding observations, certain recommendations have been made in order to improve the health and educational status of Roma children, as well as preventive interventions of the primary, secondary and tertiary type in relation to preventing the occurrence of child labor at different levels.

Deca uključena u bilo koju vrstu rada na ulici doživljavaju širok spektar problema različite vrste koji mogu trajno onemogućiti izlazak iz začaranog kruga siromaštva i socijalne isključenosti. Emocionalni i zdravstveni problemi, nedostatak pristupa obrazovanju i neadekvatno obrazovanje, visok nivo nasilja, eksploatacije i diskriminacije, samo su neke od teškoća sa kojima se ova deca svakodnevno susreću. Prema različitim podacima ova deca većinski pripadaju romskoj etničkoj grupi, te se kao jedan od vodećih rizičnih faktora za pojavu dečjeg rada upravo posmatra kontekst života Roma kao višestruko socijalno i ekono mski deprivirane društvene grupe. Sa stanovišta da prvi korak u prevenciji dečjeg rada dece iz romske etničke grupe jeste uvid u ključne segmente koji problem stvaraju i koji mu doprinose, cilj rada, pored analize opštih faktora rizika pojave dečjeg rada kroz dostupna istraživanja, jeste i analiza zdravstvene, socijalne, obrazovne i stambene situacije romske etničke grupe kao preduslova kreiranja politike poboljšanja kvaliteta života romskih porodica i dece koja se u tim porodicama socijalizuju. Na ovaj način bi se uticalo na faktore rizika dečjeg rada, čime bi se posredno, na širem društvenom nivou, ova pojava i prevenirala. Metode koje se koriste u radu jesu sinteza empirijskih nalaza i analiza sadržaja relevantnih publikacija i nacionalnih dokumenata od značaja za poboljšanje položaja društveno osetljivih grupa. U zaključnim razmatranjima su iznete određene preporuke u pravcu poboljšanja zdravstvenog i obrazovnog statusa romske dece, kao i preventivne intervencije primarnog, sekundarnog i tercijarnog tipa u vezi sa preveniranjem pojave dečijeg rada na različitim nivoima.