Street children’s use of social support against everyday abuse in Bangladesh
editThis qualitative study explores how the estimated 1–3 million street children of Bangladesh cope with the verbal, physical, and sexual violence inflicted upon them on an almost daily basis. Drawing on a sample of 75 street children aged 10–17 in the capital city of Dhaka, the study is based on multiple interviews with participants. Interview data and social network theory yielded insights about the types of violence endured and how age, gender, and location impacted risks faced by street children. The study also highlights the complex, varied roles that social networks and group solidarity, as well as the actions of individual peers, play in the survival of this vulnerable population.