Abstract:
Street children are perennial problems in major urban areas of the
country. This thesis is an exploratory study of the socio-economic conditions and
other factors that prompted these street children to engage in prostitution and
petty crimes. Interviews with them on the streets and in drop-in centers provide
first hand information of their insights. The discussion in the succeeding chapters
of this thesis traces the root cause of their involvement in prostitution and petty
crimes from their need to survive. Both the economic and social factors observed
are presented in this paper.