Children and youth in street situations and their capabilities - "From strategies of urban survival to careers within the protection system"

This research uses an Interactionist approach to understand how children and youth in street situations in Nepal and elsewhere negotiate their social identity while confronted with dynamics of domination, labelling and violence. Their capability to survive on the street determines their career, which is also influenced by their capacity to play with the. institutional network supposed to help or control them.
These life stories will be approached with a deep analysis of : their inherited identity (e.g., cast, religion, family and community background) ; the identity developed by street situations (e.g., survival group, regular activities, drugs, physical, moral and sexual violence) ; and their projected identity (e.g., dreams, expectations, projections). Presenting a typology of the existing intervention system, this research will shed light on the existing gaps and the effect of conversion back to the norm ", carried out or encouraged by NGOs or public authorities.
The current transformation of the Child Protection System will be analyzed, along with their real or felt impact on marginalized children and youth. The paradox will be explored between the institutional discourse, which presents the child as an actor of his life and rights, and the reality on the ground, where intervention tools integrate little of the individual's perspectives and the interactional context surrounding concerned subjects.