Experts urge action to help child beggars

Experts urge action to help child beggars

Child beggars on the streets are a global phenomenon, but experts and NGOs in Southeast Europe are urging governments to take action.

Child beggars are a global phenomenon. [AFP]

The sight of begging children, usually emaciated with dirt-smeared faces and hands, is part of the landscape in almost all of the large cities in the Balkans, with the problem growing more acute as the global economic crisis impacted families throughout Southeast Europe.

Sucko Bakovic, the human rights ombudsman of Montenegro, said more than 300 children beg on the streets of the country daily.

"This number is doubled during the tourist season, when a lot of people are on the streets. Difficult financial situations are the most common cause of this phenomenon, and most often those are the children of the Roma population. Authorities have made some efforts, but it's still not enough. The synergy of all institutions is necessary in order to eliminate this problem," Bakovic told SETimes.

According to a survey by the office of the ombudsman published at the end of 2012, children earn between 2 and 15 euros a day on the streets. About 90 percent of them said they have to beg in order to get food.

"Child begging is one of the most visible forms of child abuse. It is a complex problem that cannot be solved by a single intervention. It requires a multi-sectorial approach that includes a tight collaboration between the police, social workers and schools," Benjamin Perks, chief of UNICEF's office in Montenegro, told SETimes.

Montenegro's social services and the police evidenced 323 cases of begging and 15 charges were filed against persons who forced children to beg in 2013.

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