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to survive on less than 1 dollar a day. Around half of these people live in extreme
poverty, a tendency which is especially pervasive in the rural areas of Cambodia. Amid
the global financial crisis, the Asian Development Bank estimated that an additional
2 million people in Cambodia may have been thrust into poverty as the cost of food,
fuel and other commodities have risen 17 . Consequently, an increasing number of
Cambodian women and children have been seeking work in the informal sector in order
to survive - for lower wages, poorer conditions, and greater risk of sexual exploitation
and trafficking.
Street Life of Cambodian Children/Youth
The majority of street children/youth in Cambodia, like in most countries, live in the
capital and big cities as they are
considered to have better economic and
employment opportunities by migrants
from the provinces 18 . The reality is that
they usually live in appalling conditions
with no protection and often no record
of their existence. While the street
children/youth phenomenon generally
is seen as urban, there is an increasing
tendency in the rural areas in Cambodia. The impact of street life on children/youth in
Cambodia is considerable. Unstable lifestyles, lack of medical care and inadequate
living conditions increase young people’s susceptibility to exploitation, substance abuse,
chronic illness, sexual violence and sexually transmitted diseases 19 .
Based on the 2008 snapshot survey 5,622 street children/youth were counted in six
Cambodian locations, however, based on rough estimations of the CSCN members,
these figures could be up to four times higher 20 . Responding to the magnitude of
the street children/youth problem and underprivileged children in general, a growing
number of institutions and orphanages have been set up by both NGOs and government
agencies – arguing that institutionalising street children/youth is for their own good.
However, replacing children and removing them from families or family networks is not
CSCN
18 CSCN Street Children Profile 2009