1.
People,
places
and
things:
A
study
of
street
and
‘hideout’
children’s
experiences
of
vulnerability
and
resilience
in
Freetown,
Sierra
Leone
Tim
Malcomson,
Global
Child
Protection
Advisor,
GOAL
Ireland
August
2014

2.
2
GOAL
Ireland,
Children’s
Empowerment
and
Protection
Sector
–
August,
2014
Abstract:
Conducted
as
part
of
GOAL’s
monitoring,
evaluation
and
learning
processes
for
its
Children’s
Empowerment
and
Protection
Sector,
this
research
analyses
eighty
street
and
‘hideout’
children’s
narratives
of
their
experiences
of
vulnerability
and
resilience
in
Freetown,
Sierra
Leone.
The
research
examines
experiences
in
terms
of
family,
migration
and
urban
contexts
of
violence,
exploitation,
abuse
and
neglect.
It
looks
at
urban
networks
of
power
and
examines
how
children
navigate
and
manipulate
these
to
gain
some,
though
very
limited,
degree
of
control
over
their
vulnerabilities.
I
use
Wagner’s
(2005)
framework
of
community
analysis
to
examine
narratives
around
children’s
aspirations
for
membership
of
the
‘good’
community
(i.e.
breaking
away
from
the
socio-­‐economic
shackles
of
their
‘hideouts’)
and
the
factors
and
actions
that
exclude
them.
Finally
I
examine
child
labour
and
trafficking
within
legislation
in
Sierra
Leone
in
which
these
children,
their
forced
labour,
and
their
urban
gang
masters
(i.e.
‘bras’,
‘sissies’
and
‘Five-­‐Os’)
are
clearly
located.
The
analysis
demonstrates
absence
of
implementation
of
legislation
and
its
envisaged
protection
mechanisms
but,
equally,
deviant
engagement
with
extremely
vulnerable
children
and
youths
of
community
leaders,
institutions
and
agents
tasked
with
protecting
them.
These
clearly
endorse
children’s
narratives
of
victimization,
criminalisation
and
re-­‐victimization.
I
propose
using
a
broad
adapted
‘safe
migration’
framework
to
develop
a
pragmatic
package
of
ways
for
mitigating
vulnerability
for
children
at
the
source
(i.e.
the
child’s
rural
home),
at
their
destination
(e.g.
Freetown)
and
through
community
protection
mechanisms
at
both
source
and
destination.
Demonstrating
a
clear
link
between
intrafamilial
migration
(informal
fostering)
and
trafficking,
I
suggest
that
it
is
necessary
to
include
and
therefore
legislate
for
it
as
a
potentially
harmful
tradition.
Recognising
a
broad
culture
of
violence
against
children
in
Sierra
Leone,
I
also
propose
the
necessity
to
challenge
its
justification
in
law,
in
child-­‐rearing
and
protection
institutions,
and
by
community
leaders.
I
appeal
especially
for
more
police
accountability
and
deferment
to
Article
16
of
the
Anti
Human
Trafficking
Act,
the
legal
provision
against
criminalisation
of
children
for
their
forced
activities
under
the
duress
of
situations
of
trafficking.

3.
3
GOAL
Ireland,
Children’s
Empowerment
and
Protection
Sector
–
February,
2014
Contents
Abstract:
............................................................................................................................................................
2
Acknowledgements
...........................................................................................................................................
4
1.0
Background
.............................................................................................................................................
4
1.1
Workshop
Objectives:
.........................................................................................................................
5
1.2
Workshop
Methodology
.....................................................................................................................
5
1.3
Limits
to
the
research
..........................................................................................................................
7
2.0
Workshop
findings
.................................................................................................................................
8
2.1
Children’s
experience
of
threat
in
their
hideouts
and
in
the
community
..........................................
8
2.1.1
Threatening
and
disliked
people
.................................................................................................
8
2.1.2
Fearsome
places
.........................................................................................................................
13
2.1.3
Fearsome
things
.........................................................................................................................
15
2.2
Children
coping
with
vulnerability
.....................................................................................................
17
2.2.1
Good
and
bad
relationships
........................................................................................................
17
2.2.2
Children’s
health
strategies
.......................................................................................................
19
2.3
Street
and
hideout
economics:
financial
and
transactional
activities
..............................................
19
2.3.1
On
what
children
spend
their
money
.............................................................................................
21
3.0
Exploring
street
and
‘hideout’
children’s
vulnerability:
exploitation
and
resilience
.............................
22
4.0
Concluding
remarks
and
recommendations
.........................................................................................
28
Safe
Migration
.........................................................................................................................................
28
Urban
networks
of
exploitation
..............................................................................................................
31
Re-­‐victimisation
at
institutional
and
policy
levels
...................................................................................
32
Violence
against
children
........................................................................................................................
33
Children’s
recommendations
and
endorsement
of
the
findings
.............................................................
33
Bibliography
....................................................................................................................................................
34

4.
4
GOAL
Ireland,
Children’s
Empowerment
and
Protection
Sector
–
August,
2014
Acknowledgements
Thanks
go
to
GOAL
Sierra
Leone’s
CEDU
team
for
their
support
in
the
research
design,
implementation,
write-­‐up
of
workshop
notes
and
review
processes.
Their
on-­‐going
programmatic
engagement
with
‘extremely
vulnerable
children
and
youth’
(EVCY),
street
and
‘hideout’
sub-­‐cultures
and
environments
has
meant
that
the
design,
facilitation
and
review
helped
the
research
process
to
be
truly
child-­‐centred
and
contribute
considerably
to
the
production
of
meaningful
findings
and
their
interpretation.
We
also
acknowledge
and
thank
the
eighty
children
who
participated
in
this
research
for
their
valuable,
honest
and
insightful
analysis
of
their
experiences
of
vulnerability
and
coping
strategies.
Children’s
spirit
of
fortitude
and
resilience
in
the
most
appalling
abusive
and
exploitative
environments
that
they
describe
is
as
much
inspiring
as
it
is
shocking.
It
demands
our
attention
and
dedication
as
parents,
community
leaders,
police,
politicians
and
policy-­‐makers
across
the
globe
–
for
the
findings
implicate
us
all
–
to
pursue
change
assiduously.
Finally,
I
would
like
to
thank
the
technical
team
and
management
of
GOAL
Ireland
for
their
support
for
the
research.
1.0
Background
Initially
working
with
child
soldiers
and
other
street
populations
from
1999,
for
the
past
six
years
GOAL
Sierra
Leone’s
Timap
for
Pikin
(T4P)
programme
has
progressively
moved
to
an
approach
that
examines
and
builds
upon
children’s
experience
of
and
resilience
to
vulnerability.
T4P
programme
is
currently
implementing
interventions
with
street
children,
young
sex
workers
(through
the
support
of
Irish
Aid)
and,
since
2011,
child
miners
under
the
broader
umbrella
of
child
labour
(with
the
support
of
the
EU).
Much
work
focuses
on
helping
children
through
life
transitions
–
from
street
to
home,
from
out-­‐of-­‐school
into
the
education
system,
and
from
youth
gangs
and
prostitution
to
sustainable
businesses
or
employment
through
skills
training.
The
programme
supports
children-­‐led
routes
away
from
the
street
and
urban
ghettos.
Engaging
extremely
vulnerable
children,
however,
requires
considerable
enquiry
into
the
lives
and
environments
that
have,
on
one
side,
dominated
and
limited
children’s
opportunities
but,
on
the
other
side,
called
upon
children
to
develop
coping
strategies
that
help
them
to
survive
even
the
most
dire
and
abusive
of
environments.
This
report
–
on
four
one
day
participatory
workshops
with
these
children
between
30th
October
and
7th
November
2013
–
reflects
upon
and
analyses
children’s
experience
of
vulnerability
on
the
streets
and
in
the
‘hideouts’
of
Freetown.
It
not
only
looks
at
descriptions
of
children’s
exploitation
by
people,
places
and
things
but
also
how
children
manage
their
vulnerability
and
build
resilience
in
these
exploitative
environments
through
effective
coping
behaviours.
By
finding
out
how
children
are
both
dominated
by
and
resistant
to
powerful
people,
places
and
things
in
the
street
and
‘hideout’,
therefore,
GOAL
is
able
to
clarify
appropriate
activities
to
support
the
most
excluded
children
(e.g.
helping
children
link
positive
decision-­‐making
to
potential
exits
and
opportunities).
On
the
other
side,
such
enquiry
also
clarifies
the
ecosystem
of
people,
places
and
things
at
street,
community
and
government
levels
that
need
to
be
challenged
and
changed
to
create
sustainable
urban
environments
that
foster
all
children’s
healthy
development
and
maturation.

5.
5
GOAL
Ireland,
Children’s
Empowerment
and
Protection
Sector
–
February,
2014
61.7%
per
cent
of
Sub-­‐Saharan
Africa’s
urban
population
live
in
informal
settlements
and
slums
(UN
Habitat,
2011).
There
is
a
growing
income
disparity
between
the
urban
wealthy
and
urban
poor
–
with
the
income
of
the
richest
10%
of
the
population
in
some
emerging
economies
reaching
a
staggering
fifty
times
that
of
the
poorest
(UN
Habitat,
2013).
A
lack
of
leadership
and
political
will
in
many
major
cities
in
Sub-­‐
Saharan
Africa
to
address
urban
inequality
results
in
the
deferment
of
provision
of
quality
services
and
structures
for
excluded
urban
populations
and
their
children.
GOAL’s
Children’s
Empowerment
and
Protection
Sector
focuses
on
what
it
refers
to
as
‘extremely
vulnerable
children
and
youth’
(EVCY).
These
EVCYs
in
Freetown
have
the
character
of
living
away
from
family
caregivers
on
the
streets
or
in
informal
settlement
‘hideouts’.
The
hideout
typically
is
characterised
as
a
small
room
or
veranda
on
which
between
four
and
twenty
children
live
and
for
which
they
pay
rent
and/or
provide
labour
under
the
often
abusive
and
exploitative
authority
of
a
male
or
female
adult
(referred
to
as
‘bra’
or
‘sissie’).
This
research
builds
on
previous
programme
studies
into
EVCYs
and
their
urban
environments
in
Freetown.
It
looks
in
detail
at
children’s
experience
of
exploitation
and
abuse,
but
also
at
urban
people
and
institutions
with
power
and
responsibility
that
are
implicated
in
EVCYs’
marginalisation.
Sections
1.1
to
1.3
look
at
the
research
objectives,
the
participatory
methodology
and
at
its
limits.
Section
2
presents
findings,
identifying
where
there
are
intersections
between
group
and
individual
testimony
and
meta-­‐narratives.
Section
2.1
looks
at
what
the
eight
groups
of
children
see
as
fearsome
people,
places
and
things.
Section
2.2
looks
at
children’s
coping
mechanisms
and
strategies.
Section
2.3
examines
the
types
of
economic
activities
and
transactions
that
are,
on
one
side,
demanded
both
by
the
context
of
survival
but
also,
on
the
other
side,
demanded
by
those
in
authority
over
children
or
those
who
benefit
from
their
labour.
Section
3
presents
an
analysis
of
these
findings
in
the
context
of
children’s
access
and
experience
of
existing
health
and
protection
services.
The
conclusion,
section
4,
makes
recommendations
aimed
at
impacting
EVCYs’
ecosystem
–
proposing
intervention
at
community,
service
institutional
and
policy
levels.
1.1
Workshop
Objectives:
There
were
three
principal
objectives
for
the
four-­‐day
workshop:
1. To
look
at
how
power
is
exerted
on
the
street
and
in
ghetto
and
community
environments
in
the
context
of
children’s
experiences
of
vulnerability
in
terms
of
people,
places
and
things
2. To
gather
a
‘thick’
description
of
children’s
coping
strategies
in
the
face
of
vulnerability
in
hideouts/the
street,
and
3. To
engage
Timap
for
Pekin
in
discussions
about
potential
future
areas
of
intervention.
1.2
Workshop
Methodology
From
GOAL’s
drop-­‐in
centre
and
through
GOAL’s
extensive
street
outreach
network,
eighty
street
and
‘hideout’
children
(forty
girls
and
forty
boys),
aged
from
nine
to
seventeen
years
old,
were
invited
to

6.
6
GOAL
Ireland,
Children’s
Empowerment
and
Protection
Sector
–
August,
2014
participate
in
this
study.
None
of
the
children
were
staying
with
caregivers1
,
however,
all
standards
for
GOAL’s
organisational
protocol
for
ethical
participation
were
applied
(note
that
GOAL
has
worked
with
and
built
a
strong
relationship
with
this
population
for
many
years).
All
children
approached
accepted
the
invitation
to
participate
in
this
study
and
all
came
to
the
agreed
meeting
points
from
where
transport
to
the
venue
had
been
organised.
The
division
of
children
between
those
engaged
in
GOAL’s
intervention
and
those
who
were
not
was
intended
to
test
whether
there
was
a
difference
between
the
two
groups’
narratives
–
even
though
children
belong
to
the
same
street
and
‘hideout’
networks.
However,
as
the
data
did
not
specifically
refer
to
GOAL’s
interventions
and
interventions
only
engage
children
for
four
hours
per
weekday,
there
was
no
discernible
difference
in
narratives.
Children
were
divided
into
the
following
four
principal
groups
over
the
four
days:
• Day
One:
20
under-­‐14
year
old
children
who
were
participants
of
T4P
programming
• Day
Two:
20
under-­‐14
year
old
children
who
were
not
participants
of
T4P
programming
• Day
Three:
20
over
14-­‐year
old
children
who
were
participants
of
T4P’s
programme
• Day
Four:
20
over
14-­‐year
old
children
who
were
not
participants
of
T4P’s
programme
In
order
to
have
a
clear
idea
about
the
gendered
experience
of
the
street
and
ghetto,
for
each
day,
the
group
of
twenty
(being
10
girls
and
10
boys)
were
divided
into
two
groups
of
boys
and
two
of
girls.
Questions
were
the
same
for
boys
and
girls
over
the
four
days
except
in
one
question
referring
to
gendered
discussions
about
new
boys
or
girls
joining
a
street
group
or
hideout.
The
questions,
methods
of
enquiry,
group
dynamics,
facilitation
guidelines,
and
formats
for
recording
data
to
be
used
during
the
workshop
and
any
ethical
concerns
were
addressed
and
agreed
upon
by
GOAL’s
Child
Protection
Advisor,
managers
and
workshop
facilitators
several
days
in
advance.
This
guideline
is
presented
as
Annex
1.
From
a
social
constructivist
perspective,
a
qualitative,
participatory
methodology
was
used
that
focused
on
exploring
and
bringing
together
children’s
narratives.
The
research
used
focus
group
discussions,
issue
identification
and
participative
ranking
(based
on
the
number
of
categories
identified
by
the
children),
and
group
feedback.
After
the
first
day
we
had
a
facilitator
feedback
session.
This
allowed
us
to
make
small
changes
to
how
the
facilitators
would
engage
the
groups.
However,
the
questions
were
not
changed.
For
example,
rather
than
engaging
in
long
discussions
around
specific
fears
throughout
the
process,
it
was
decided
that
time
would
be
saved
and
interest
maintained
if
children
for
the
second
day
should
first
identify
fears
(in
terms
of
people,
places
and
things),
write
these
on
flash
cards,
post
these
on
the
wall,
rank
them
as
a
group
and
only
then
sit
and
describe
each
fear
and
re-­‐rank
them
where
the
group
felt
it
appropriate.
This
also
made
recording
easier
for
the
facilitator.
We
also
felt
that,
apart
from
ranking,
other
pre-­‐agreed
codification
was
unnecessary
until
the
data
was
later
analysed.
We
also
felt
that
children
should
be
more
involved
in
posting
flash
cards
and
ranking
in
a
standing
‘discussion
huddle’
to
increase
their
participation
and
keep
the
group
interest
over
the
course
of
the
day.
A
principal
facilitator
would
also
move
from
group
to
group
occasionally
introducing
an
energizer
break
where
this
was
seen
as
necessary.
1
Many
of
the
children
were
staying
with
‘bras’
and
‘sissies’
within
an
economic
rather
than
caregiving
relationship.
GOAL
outreach
staff
have
build
a
relationship
with
this
population
and
permissions
were
sought
for
children’s
attendance
(and
absence
from
economic
activities),
accordingly.

7.
7
GOAL
Ireland,
Children’s
Empowerment
and
Protection
Sector
–
February,
2014
Once
the
workshop
was
over,
the
facilitators
were
asked
to
write
up
the
group
reports.
These
reports
provided
the
children’s
ranking
tables
and
group
discussion
and
conclusions
(backed
up
by
photographic
evidence
of
ranking).
The
completed
reports
were
edited
by
the
programme
coordinator
and
any
confusion
(e.g.
in
use
of
street
jargon)
cleared
up.
The
reports
were
sent
to
the
principal
compiler
for
codification,
analysis
and
write-­‐up.
Other
issues
of
street
jargon
or
unclear
language
and
terms
were
addressed
by
the
street
outreach
social
workers
as
the
write
up
progressed.
The
draft
report
was
then
sent
to
the
managers
and
facilitators
for
further
feedback.
Facilitators,
language
and
instructions:
facilitators
were
asked
to
translate
proposed
questions
into
a
language
that
would
be
both
familiar
to
children.
To
avoid
misinterpretation
both
by
facilitators
and
children
as
much
as
possible,
translations
were
agreed
upon
before
the
workshop
began.
Complaints
mechanism
and
ground
rules:
So
that
children
and
staff
would
be
clear
about
child
safety,
a
short
session
set
out
an
agreed
set
of
behaviours
that
participants
committed
to
and
came
up
with
a
complaints
mechanism
through
a
trusted
boy
and
girl
who
had
been
chosen
by
the
whole
group.
The
group
was
also
invited
to
speak
about
any
concerns
to
any
trusted
adult
who
would
then
direct
the
concern
to
the
appropriate
organiser
or
protection
focal
point.
Throughout
this
research
paper,
quotations,
unless
otherwise
stated,
are
taken
from
the
facilitators’
group
discussion
notes.
1.3
Limits
to
the
research
Clearly
the
dynamics
of
a
‘group
ranking’
methodology
mean
that
it
is
important
to
also
reflect
disputed
ranking
within
each
group
of
five
girls
or
boys.
Although
the
findings
do
show
a
remarkable
level
of
consistency
of
response
across
groups,
the
weight
of
information
being
gathered
and
the
limited
time
in
which
to
gather
it
meant
that
facilitators
were
unable
to
explore
in
further
detail
disputed
points
or
issues.
Although
there
are
certainly
clear
patterns
emerging
on
urban
relationships
and
power
dynamics,
group
discussions
did
not
allow
for
in-­‐depth
analysis
of
these.
The
research
team,
therefore,
had
to
also
rely
on
their
own
in-­‐depth
working
knowledge
of
the
children
and
their
urban
contexts
to
fill
in
any
knowledge
gaps
(e.g.
about
language
and
street
terms
or
the
background
on
significant
people
–
such
as
the
‘Five-­‐0’).
Feedback
from
the
team
during
this
writing
process
helped
to
clarify
knowledge
gaps.
Also,
apart
from
broad
statements,
the
research
findings
do
not
give
evidence
of
children’s
thinking
on
potentially
new
and
collaborative
ways
of
addressing
their
vulnerability.
Indeed,
the
objective
was
to
understand
children’s
experience
of
vulnerability
and
current
strategies
–
looking
at
the
potential
for
programme
responses
that
might
include
limited
participatory
action
research
will
necessarily
be
the
next
step.
Time
also
perhaps
did
not
allow
for
sufficient
research
team
reflection
upon
the
methodology
and
dynamics
after
the
workshop.
However,
this
research
report
and
its
annexes
may
also
be
used
by
the
research
team
in
Sierra
Leone
for
reviewing
these.
The
ranking
–
originally
envisaged
as
giving
a
sense
of
relative
importance
children
place
on
specific
people,
places
and
things
–
acted
more
as
a
framework
within
which
participants
could
identify,
organise
and
debate
very
complex
relationships.
Some
ranking
of
people
and
places
were
similar
across
the
groups.
Many
other
people,
places
and
things
were
ranked
very
differently
for
different
groups
–
some
for
obvious
gendered
reasons,
others
with
little
evident
unanimity
about
why
one
person
or
place
was
ranked
over

8.
8
GOAL
Ireland,
Children’s
Empowerment
and
Protection
Sector
–
August,
2014
another.
Indeed,
based
on
one
relatively
isolated
experience,
in
one
group,
girls
felt
obliged
to
place
‘grandmother’
as
the
most
fearsome
person
to
reflect
the
exceptional
experience
of
one
of
the
girls.
Having
said
this,
in
order
not
to
ignore
the
integrity
of
each
discussion,
I
have
decided
to
incorporate
as
many
nuances
as
possible
whose
micro-­‐narratives,
I
feel,
all
contribute
to
and
consolidate
meta-­‐narratives
(e.g.
about
marginalised
children’s
construction
of
a
notional
community
to
which
they
aspire
or
broad
categorisation
of
‘fearsome
people’)
that
the
study
draws
out
in
the
analysis.
Note,
however,
where
there
is
unanimity
about
specific
categories,
such
as
the
police
or
sissie
for
‘fearsome
people’,
I
also
place
emphasis
on
these
as
such
emphasis
may
relate
to
specific
programme
responses
to
and
recommendations
for
such
specific
categories.
Finally,
beyond
children’s
membership
of
street
and
hideout
networks,
it
was
not
possible
to
profile
individual
children
(e.g.
the
specifics
of
their
street
connectedness
or
hideout
group).
Although
this
might
have
provided
clues
to
possible
bias
in
the
children’s
narratives,
we
felt
that
such
intrusive
inquiry
would
more
appropriately
and
ethically
addressed
as
part
of
broader
commitment
to
individual
children
beyond
(and
as
a
programme
design
consequence
of)
the
study
event.
2.0
Workshop
findings
2.1
Children’s
experience
of
threat
in
their
hideouts
and
in
the
community
2.1.1
Threatening
and
disliked
people
Children’s
definitions
of
threatening
and
dislikeable
people
can
be
divided
into
five
broad
categories:
• Fearsome
people
associated
with
gangs
and
hideouts
• Fearsome
other
people
in
the
street/hideout
environment
having
an
impact
on
children
• Fearsome
people
associated
with
cultural
traditions
(e.g.
secret
societies
and
witches)
• Fearsome
family
members,
and
• Fearsome
government
and
traditional
leaders
and
security
agents
(e.g.
chiefs,
police
&
soldiers)
Fearsome
people
associated
with
gangs
and
hideouts
The
children
participating
in
the
four
days
of
workshops
can
broadly
be
described
as
‘street
children’.
However,
the
term
takes
in
a
broad
set
of
children’s
experiences
from
children
trafficked
to
‘hideout’
gang
masters
by
relatives
to
children
living
on
the
streets.
The
‘hideout’
is
a
room,
shack
or
space
within
the
slums
of
Freetown
where
groups
of
children
stay
with
a
‘bra’
or
‘sissie’
(roughly
translated
as
male
and
female
gang
masters).
In
exchange
for
being
taken
in
to
the
‘hideout’
children
have
to
follow
the
bra
or
sissie’s
set
of
work
and
behavioural
demands.
Work
is
given
and
rent
is
commonly
demanded
by
the
bra
or
sissie
or
payment
in
other
often
exploitative
and
abusive
forms
(as
shown
by
the
findings
below).
From
previous
GOAL
studies
with
children
in
hideouts
and
on
the
street
and
from
this
study,
children
describe
gang
hierarchies
associated
with
the
street
and
children’s
‘hideouts’.
Above
the
bra
and
sissie,
in
terms
of
seniority,
is
the
‘five-­‐O’,
‘five
star’
or
‘gang-­‐ster’
(terms
used
by
different
children
to
describe
the
same
person).
The
‘five-­‐O’
is
so
named
because
they
have
the
fearsome
reputation
of
having
stabbed
at
least
five
people.
This
leader
will
have
territorial
control
over
a
number
of
hideouts.
However,
some
children
will
also
stay
with
the
‘five-­‐O’.

9.
9
GOAL
Ireland,
Children’s
Empowerment
and
Protection
Sector
–
February,
2014
As
the
relationship
between
gangs
is
territorial
it
is
often
based
on
conflict,
children
also
include
other
street
gangs
and
street
boys
as
threats.
Threats
also
seems
to
reflect
different
types
of
association
with
the
street
–
children
living
on
the
street,
and
therefore
outside
the
community
structure,
are
seen
as
more
fearsome
than
children
in
more
settled
hideouts
within
their
geographical
community.
Although
threat
posed
by
these
gang
masters
is
common,
children
usually
describe
different
forms
of
threat
that
are
both
to
do
with
age
and
gender.
Under-­‐14
boys:
Under-­‐14
year
old
boys
say
that
the
bras,
‘five-­‐Os’
and
street
gangs
take
their
money
and
property,
use
them
as
child
labourers,
send
them
to
steal
and
sell
drugs,
and
physically
and
sexually
abuse
them.
These
boys
also
recognise
that
the
‘five-­‐Os’
and
‘street
gangs’
can
kill
and
stab
to
exert
their
authority.
Under-­‐14
girls:
Largely
the
under-­‐14
girls’
groups
described
a
similar
experience.
However,
these
experiences
are
associated
with
the
sissies
with
whom
they
stay.
These
girls
say
that
the
sissies
take
their
money,
use
them
for
domestic
and
hired
labour,
and
send
them
out
to
steal.
Girls
describe
the
types
of
work
they
are
forced
to
do.
This
includes
street
petty
trading
and
selling
drugs
and
alcohol.
The
girls
also
say
that
they
are
held
responsible
for
any
losses
during
sales
–
paying
back
the
sissie
by
taking
the
risky
action
of
pursuing
customers
(or
through
prostitution
to
replace
the
lost
earnings).
Indeed,
both
groups
of
under-­‐14
year
old
girls
say
that
sissies
push
them
to
prostitution
or
hire
them
out
to
men
themselves.
Over-­‐14
boys:
Based
on
a
similar
powerless
position,
the
over-­‐14
year
old
boys
describe
a
similar
pattern
of
threats
to
themselves.
Again,
the
older
boys
also
claim
that
bras
force
them
to
have
anal
sex.
Over-­‐14
girls:
Again,
referring
to
the
sissies
with
whom
the
girls
live,
the
groups
of
over-­‐14
year
old
girls
describe
the
same
experiences
as
the
younger
girls.
However,
the
age
of
the
girls
allows
them
to
be
more
articulate
about
the
experiences.
All
four
girls’
groups
explain
that
the
sissie
“…
sends
them
out
without
protecting
[them]
…”
and
financial
gains
are
either
taken
from
them
or,
the
girls
felt,
not
shared
fairly.
Although
in
later
narratives
on
fearsome
places
and
things
the
girls
list
petty
trading,
bar
work,
etc.
as
risky,
the
biggest
threat
identified
in
association
with
sissies
echoed
by
all
over-­‐14
year
old
groups
seems
consistently
to
be
forced
sex
work.
Sissies,
two
groups
mentioned,
force
them
to
take
drugs
and
alcohol
so
that
the
girls
become
“…
light
headed’
and
compliant”
(or
‘feel
highly’).
One
group
described
how
sissies
“…
introduce
them
to
men
that
are
bigger
than
them
and
their
futures
are
spoiled”
(referring
to
the
danger
of
fistula
and
its
impact).
One
group
saw
the
work
they
do
through
the
sissie
as
depriving
them
from
going
to
school
and
being
useful
in
society.
One
group
also
ranks
street
gangs
as
an
environmental
threat
because
they
‘beat,
stab
and
steal’
from
the
girls
and
‘sometimes
attempt
to
traffic
them.
However,
street
gangs
were
ranked
only
at
6
by
this
group
and
was
not
mentioned
by
others.
Fearsome
other
people
in
the
street/hideout
environment
having
an
impact
on
children
Under
this
heading
are
mentioned
six
different
categories
of
people
that
are
a
threat:
rapists,
thieves,
drug
takers,
raray
men,
motorcycle
taxi
riders,
taxi
drivers,
‘customers’
(i.e.
for
sex),
‘shrinkers’,
security
guards,

10.
10
GOAL
Ireland,
Children’s
Empowerment
and
Protection
Sector
–
August,
2014
and
sissies’
sons
(see
explanations
of
these
categories
below).
Interestingly,
all
these
people
who
form
an
environmental
threat
are
all
identified
by
the
two
over-­‐14
girls’
groups
and
none
of
the
other
groups.
Environments
of
sexual
violence:
For
two
groups
of
girls,
the
threats
from
rapists
and
thieves
were
ranked
higher
than
for
sissies.
The
risk
for
both
categories
is
rape
and
violence
(even
death)
associated
with
this.
Rape,
the
girls
reason,
also
“…
leaves
them
infected
with
sexually
transmitted
diseases”.
A
‘raray
man’
(male
sexual
partner)
was
mentioned
by
one
group
as
a
person
who
brutalises
girls
during
sex.
One
group
said
that
some
‘customers’
also
refuse
pay
for
sex.
When
the
girls
complain,
they
said,
they
are
either
beaten
by
the
customer
or
he
calls
the
police
to
arrest
the
girls.
One
group
mentioned
that
customers
force
them
to
have
unprotected
sex
or
“…
prick
the
condom”.
On
a
ranking
scale
the
group
that
mentioned
customers
ranked
them
higher
than
sissies
(4
compared
to
5
for
sissies).
On
the
theme
of
sexual
violence
against
girls,
in
one
group
two
girls
also
claimed
to
have
experienced
forced
sex
from
the
sissies’
older
sons
–
with
a
threat
of
being
driven
from
the
household
if
they
did
not
comply
(mentioned
and
ranked
2
for
one
group).
Environments
of
physical
threat:
‘Okada’
motorcycle
taxi
riders
and
ordinary
taxi
drivers
are
a
threat
to
girls
during
the
night
as
they
attack
them
in
dark
places
or
take
them
to
secluded
places
to
steal
the
girls’
earnings
and
belongings.
However,
for
the
two
groups
that
mentioned
them,
these
are
only
ranked
at
9
and
11,
respectfully.
Apart
from
the
threat
of
sexual
violence
to
girls,
described
earlier,
all
boys’
groups
also
mentioned
that
thieves
and
armed
robbers
are
a
significant
threat
to
boys.
These
people,
the
boys
explained,
stab,
beat
and
sometimes
kill
during
a
robbery.
Kidnapping
(mentioned
by
one
group)
is
said
to
be
very
uncommon,
however,
the
kidnappers
demand
money
for
children’s
release
or
will
ritually
kill
them.
The
final
fearsome
people
in
this
category
that
were
mentioned
by
one
group
are
private
security
guards.
These
guards
arrest
the
boys,
with
“…
no
right
to
do
so”,
beat
them
and
steal
their
belongings.
Other
people
who
constitute
environmental
threats:
Over-­‐14
year
old
girls
also
describe
a
problematic
relationship
with
what
they
term
‘bad
neighbours’.
The
girls
complain
that
these
bad
neighbours
say
bad
things
about
them
and
talk
about
them
being
‘bad’
children.
For
the
two
groups
who
mention
bad
neighbours,
there
is
a
clear
sense
that
the
girls’
self-­‐confidence
and
self-­‐image
is
affected
by
this.
Although
one
of
the
two
groups
ranks
the
bad
neighbour
12,
the
other
group
puts
such
importance
on
what
they
see
as
injustice
that
they
ranked
them
3.
Perhaps
linked
to
this
idea
of
understanding
that
behaviour
has
consequences
and
exclusion
is
felt
strongly,
one
group
of
girls
said
that
they
“…
hate
drugs
takers
because
when
they
have
taken
drugs
they
misbehave
and
do
things
that
are
not
acceptable
in
society”.
There
is
an
element
of
dissociation
here
because,
as
mentioned
earlier,
most
girls
are
drug
takers
themselves
–
whether
willingly
or
not.
The
group
ranks
drug
users
at
3,
perhaps
acknowledging
the
negative
impact
of
drug
taking
on
girls
themselves.
Drug
pushers
are
seen
in
a
similar
way
but
are
seen
to
be
violent
and
influence
the
girls
to
take
drugs.
However,
in
the
group
that
mention
them
only
ranked
them
13,
a
relatively
low
ranking.
Three
groups
mention
Shrinkers,
419ers
or
Liars.
These
are
different
terms
referring
to
the
same
person.
The
‘shrinker’
is
a
con
artist
or
fraudster.
Three
groups
of
boys
ranked
‘shrinkers’
8,
10
and
11.

11.
11
GOAL
Ireland,
Children’s
Empowerment
and
Protection
Sector
–
February,
2014
Fearsome
people
associated
with
cultural
traditions
(e.g.
secret
societies
and
witches)
Fear
of
witches
and
what
the
girls
term
‘societal
people’
was
mentioned
by
all
but
one
group
–
four
ranking
these
fearsome
people
at
4
or
higher.
Societal
people:
Secret
Societies
are
a
traditional
socio-­‐cultural
mechanism
making
demands
and
establishing
hierarchies
of
its
members
in
Sierra
Leone.
Although
it
is
not
the
aim
of
this
study
to
describe
secret
societies,
they
function
to
bind
people
by
rite,
identity
and
seniority
to
a
particular
group.
Examples
of
such
groups
are
Bondo-­‐Sowee,
Poro-­‐Payamba,
Ojeh-­‐Agba
and
Hunting-­‐Agba.
In
an
ethnographic
study,
Richard
Fanthorpe
(2007)
suggests
that,
after
the
civil
war,
secret
societies
have
strongly
functioned
as
a
means
of
re-­‐establishing
complex
patterns
of
local
authority
that
had
been
fractured
by
the
conflict’s
brutal
assault
on
traditional
structures.
Re-­‐establishing
these
patterns
has
meant
binding
members
and
non-­‐
members
to
relative
economic,
political
and
ethnic
identity
–
and
challenging
religious
orthodoxies.
To
establish
authority,
he
suggests,
secret
societies
have
particularly
subjected
socially
marginalised
young
people
(amongst
other
culturally
peripheral
groups)
to
forced
initiation
and
sanction.
However,
only
two
groups
of
boys
included
mention
of
secret
societies
–
describing
forced
initiation
and
‘spillage
of
societal
waters’
(the
older
boys
suggesting
that
this
causes
illness).
Both
groups
of
boys
talk
about
harassment
and
beatings
for
non-­‐societal
members;
the
younger
boys
claiming
that
fines
are
levied
against
them
for
abusive
language.
Witches:
Witches
are
mentioned
by
five
groups.
The
spiritual
attributes
given
to
witches
includes:
manipulation,
death,
spoiling
people’s
future,
bringing
sickness,
bad
luck
and
considerable
fear,
and,
one
group
claims,
even
eating
people.
The
fear
of
witches
is
mostly
articulated
by
the
older
groups
of
girls
and
boys.
Fearsome
family
members
Aunties
and
stepmothers
are
largely
blamed
for
children’s
ending
up
in
extreme
vulnerability
on
the
street
and
in
hideouts.
Whereas
stepmothers
are
largely
accused
of
pushing
children
out
of
their
homes,
aunties
are
blamed
for
luring
children
to
Freetown
with
false
promises
of
care
and
education.
Stepmothers:
Five
groups
attribute
many
of
their
feelings
of
injustice
to
their
stepmothers.
Older
and
younger
boys
blame
their
stepmothers
for
not
treating
them
like
their
stepmother’s
own
children
and
of
maltreatment
that
finally
pushed
them
to
the
street.
Older
girls
echo
the
boys’
views
adding
that,
in
pushing
them
to
the
street,
stepmothers
are
‘responsible
for
[the
girls’]
downfall’.
One
younger
group
of
girls
describe
stepmothers
as
wicked,
‘bewitching’
and
responsible
for
preventing
girls
from
going
to
school.
Perhaps
echoing
a
very
gendered
analysis
of
their
context,
only
one
group
places
any
blame
for
family
conflict
on
their
fathers.
As
this
group
explains:
“Because
they
left
their
mothers
for
other
women
and
for
such
reason,
then
the
children
are
forced
to
go
through
hard
times
and
they
are
deprived
from
getting
education
and
they
most
times
get
disputes
and
misunderstandings.”
Aunties:
Aunties
are
female
relatives
from
either
the
father
or
mother’s
side
of
the
family.
Two
groups
of
over-­‐14
year
old
girls
echoed
the
commonly
told
stories
of
‘aunties’
luring
the
girls
to
Freetown
from
their
rural
homes
with
promises
of
school.
Instead
of
schooling,
girls
end
up
in
domestic
servitude
or
petty
trading
where,
one
group
remarks,
‘[we]
are
exposed
also
with
different
kinds
of
dangers’
and
‘while
their

12.
12
GOAL
Ireland,
Children’s
Empowerment
and
Protection
Sector
–
August,
2014
own
children
go
to
school
and
live
[a]
comfortable
life’.
One
of
the
younger
groups
of
girls
put
it
more
succinctly
–
their
aunties,
they
concluded,
are
‘wicked’.
Another
younger
group
echoes
the
feeling
of
injustice
by
saying
‘[aunties]
love
some
of
their
other
relatives
‘cause
they
pamper
them
[but
not
us]’.
Only
two
other
family
members
were
mentioned.
One
under-­‐14
year
old
girl
believed
that
her
grandmother
was
a
witch
(pressuring
the
rest
of
the
group
to
rank
the
grandmother
1),
and
one
over-­‐14
girl
year
old
girls’
group
said
that
they
hate
their
uncles
‘…
because
their
uncles
want
to
sleep
with
them’
(the
low
ranking
of
10,
sadly,
perhaps
reflecting
the
multiple
other
‘fearsome’
people
being
ranked).
Fearsome
government
and
traditional
leaders
and
security
agents
Reading
about
the
violent
and
abusive
people
that
dominate
the
lives
of
some
of
the
most
vulnerable
children
in
society
in
Freetown,
perhaps
the
most
shocking
betrayal
of
children
is
that
of
people
who
are
given
the
official
role
of
protecting
them.
Implicated
in
this
betrayal
are
chiefs,
councillors,
the
police,
politicians,
soldiers
and
teachers.
The
police:
the
police
are
mentioned
as
a
threat
by
all
eight
groups
–
being
the
most
mentioned
fearsome
people
to
these
extremely
vulnerable
children.
The
over-­‐14
year
old
girls
say
that
they
feel
that
the
police
are
not
honest,
twisting
the
truth
for
their
own
gains.
Children
in
all
eight
groups
say
that
the
police
routinely
take
all
their
money
and
belongings,
lock
them
up
on
trumped
up
charges
–
or
under
laws
that
are
a
hang-­‐over
from
colonial
times
(e.g.
for
loitering).
The
police,
one
group
of
older
girls
add,
also
use
the
pretext
of
the
girls
wearing
short
skirts
to
take
their
money.
All
boys
groups
reported
that,
during
and
after
arrest,
they
are
beaten
frequently.
Two
older
groups
of
girls
claim
that,
at
times
of
crisis,
the
police
only
help
when
they
are
given
money
for
doing
so.
These
girls
also
say
that
the
police
raid
places
of
prostitution,
beat
the
girls
and
take
their
earnings.
Most
disconcerting,
the
same
groups
of
older
girls
claim
that
the
police
place
them
in
custody
so
that
they
can
have
forceful
sex
with
them
(the
older
girls
rating
police
at
1
and
4).
Soldiers
are
sometimes
called
by
government
authorities
into
the
slum
areas
to
address
public
disorder.
One
younger
group
of
boys
and
two
older
groups
of
boys
give
soldiers
the
reputation
of
beating,
stabbing
and
even
killing
people.
Chiefs:
The
dominant
observation
by
two
girls’
and
two
boys’
groups
is
that
chiefs
are
biased
against
marginalised
children.
The
four
groups
claimed
that
chiefs
‘…
make
you
an
outcast’,
do
not
recognise
them
as
part
of
the
community
and
do
not
try
to
help
them
with
their
problems.
The
four
groups
feel
that
chiefs
treat
them
badly
whether
they
are
the
complainant
or
accused
in
a
dispute.
Typical
sanctions
imposed
by
chiefs
on
street
and
‘hideout’
young
people,
the
groups
agree,
are
putting
them
in
a
cell,
fining
them,
or,
if
the
fine
cannot
be
paid,
forcing
children
to
work
for
the
chief
under
the
threat
of
banishment.
Teachers
and
Politicians:
Some
groups
of
children
add
teachers
and
politicians
to
their
lists
of
people
they
do
not
like
and
partly
blame
for
their
vulnerable
contexts.
Teachers,
they
claim,
beat
and
shout
at
them
and
only
exchange
grades
for
payment.
One
group
of
older
boys
complains
that,
in
pursuit
of
influence,
politicians
lie,
make
false
promises
and
gives
boys
drugs
to
encourage
them
to
fight
and
‘…
do
things
they
don’t
wish
to
do’.

13.
13
GOAL
Ireland,
Children’s
Empowerment
and
Protection
Sector
–
February,
2014
2.1.2
Fearsome
places
Identification
of
fearsome
places
by
workshop
participants
is
largely
determined
by
children’s
social
and
economic
engagement
in
environments
that
are
explicitly
risky.
Fearsome
places
are
associated
with
locations
of
environmental
risk
(e.g.
drowning),
people
risk
(e.g.
dangerous
people)
and
work
place
associated
risks.
There
is
also
a
strong
fear
of
the
spirit
world
associated
with
cemeteries.
Experience
of
risk
is
also
strongly
based
on
age
and
gender.
For
this
reason
I
will
list
fearsome
places
under
group
characteristics.
Under
14
year-­‐old
girls:
Two
groups
mention
cemeteries
as
fearsome
places.
The
girls
fear
decomposing
bones,
snakes,
evil
spirits
and
ghosts.
One
of
these
two
groups
says
that
the
cemetery
‘…
has
scary
looks’.
Girls
also
see
dustbins
and
dumpsites
as
unhealthy
places
where
bad
smells
and
unprotected
waste
breeds
mosquitos
and
flies
that
can
make
them
sick.
Three
groups
of
younger
girls
see
rivers,
streams
and
the
waterside
as
dangerous
places.
They
fear
drowning
and
the
destruction
of
property
by
flooding
–
one
group
also
mentioning
their
fear
of
water
spirits.
One
group
mentions
the
waterside
as
an
unhealthy
place
where
people
empty
latrines.
However,
waterside
places
are
also
associated
with
hazardous
work
demanded
of
them
by
bras
and
sissies:
two
groups
mention
carrying
heavy
loads
and
being
used
as
‘…
sex
slaves’.
Apart
from
the
danger
of
collapse,
unfinished
buildings
are
mentioned
by
one
group
of
girls
as
places
where
they
are
exposed
to
rape,
‘butter
waist’
(anal
sex),
kidnapping
and
where
rituals
happen.
However,
this
is
ranked
at
12,
perhaps
indicating
that
girls
can
avoid
these
spaces.
Similarly,
one
group
of
girls
suggest
that
they
can
avoid
police
cells
by
avoiding
criminal
activities
–
however,
this
might
appear
more
wishful
thinking
considering
the
demands
of
bras
and
sissies
mentioned
in
the
previous
section
on
fearsome
people.
Two
groups
describe
what
they
experience
if
they
go
to
a
police
cell:
beating,
bullying,
heat,
smell
and
being
forced
to
have
sex
in
exchange
for
release.
Under
14
year-­‐old
boys:
Although
boys
groups
do
not
mention
sexual
abuse,
their
experience
of
police
cells
(which
the
boys
ranked
1
and
3)
is
similar
to
the
girls.
Apart
from
having
their
freedom
curtailed,
boys
complain
of
having
property
taken
from
them,
persistent
punishment
and
beatings,
being
locked
in
with
adults
and
older
boys
where
they
‘…
learn[t]
bad
habits’
(these
bad
habits
were
not
expanded
upon),
and
acquiring
sicknesses.
Boys
mention
Ghettoes
and
rum
bars
(i.e.
drinking
places)
as
places
in
which
drugs
(e.g.
marijuana,
cocaine,
alcohol,
cigarettes,
etc.)
are
sold
by
drug
sellers
and
consumed.
Here
‘bad
people’
and
armed
robbers
meet
and
the
boys
describe
it
as
a
place
young
people
learn
to
take
drugs.
Both
are
places
with
reputations
for
fights,
stabbings
and
killings.
These
are
also
places
that
are
raided
frequently
by
the
police
(ranked
2
and
5).
Like
the
younger
girls
groups,
one
group
of
boys
mentions
dangers
associated
with
being
near
water.
Younger
boys
associate
the
seaside
with
drowning,
being
injured
by
sharp
fish
bones
or
pieces
of
metal,
but
also
being
attacked
by
snakes
and
sharks
(ranked
4).
Again,
like
the
girls,
dump
sites
are
associated
with
sickness
and
the
threat
of
chemicals
and
gas
explosions
(ranked
6).
Over
14
year-­‐old
girls:
Although
it
may
be
that
younger
girls
are
less
articulate,
that
the
environment
gets
considerably
more
risky
as
girls
get
older
is
clear
in
the
sheer
volume
and
spread
of
hazards
the
girls
list
–
twenty-­‐eight
mentions
compared
with
nineteen
for
older
boys
and
considerably
less
for
younger
children.

14.
14
GOAL
Ireland,
Children’s
Empowerment
and
Protection
Sector
–
August,
2014
There
are
many
places
where
the
older
girls
feel
vulnerable
to
and
are
aware
of
the
ever
present
threat
of
rape
(and
usually
being
robbed
at
the
same
time),
or
as
one
group
said,
‘…
[people]
doing
evil
things
to
them’.
The
girls
list
the
following
places:
bushy
areas
(ranked
8
and
9),
market
stalls
at
night
(ranked
5
and
6),
police
stations
(ranked
1,2
4
and
7),
‘rum
bars’
(ranked
8)
the
stadium
(ranked
9),
unfinished
buildings
(ranked
1
and
1)
and
two
waterside
locations,
‘Wharf’
(ranked
4)
and
‘Long
Step’
(ranked
2),
which
are
notorious
for
rapists
and
‘gang
stars’.
In
terms
of
also
feeling
vulnerable
around
what
they
see
as
inappropriate
sexualised
environments,
girls
rank
the
beach
6,
because
‘…
it
is
a
place
they
sex
[girls]
openly’,
and
cinemas
(ranked
10)
because
they
show
pornographic
films.
One
group
of
girls
also
mentions
that
‘ghettoes’
introduce
young
children
to
drugs
and
alcohol,
which
affects
both
their
behaviour
and
‘future
prospects’
(ranked
3).
Indeed,
‘ghettoes’,
dance
halls
and
clubs,
and
‘rum
bars’
are
all
seen
as
threatening,
because
they
are
places
where
fighting,
drinking
and
drug
taking
happen,
where
physical
and
sexual
threats
are
constant
but
also
places
that
are
frequently
raided
by
the
police.
Girls
complain
that
the
police
always
arrest
them
because
they
are
drunk
and
they
are
street
girls
(rather
than
having
committed
any
crime)
–
again,
we
note
that
the
police
are
identified
in
the
earlier
section
as
also
taking
advantage
of
the
girls’
vulnerability
for
both
sex
and
stealing
the
girls’
property.
One
group
of
girls,
however,
explains
that
these
are
also
places
from
which
they
get
paying
‘customers’
for
sex.
Again,
one
group
of
girls
warns
that
in
‘rum
bars’
adult
male
customers
may
spike
their
drinks
and
sexually
harass
them.
Perhaps
because
these
are
not
the
girls’
normal
places
of
work
and
therefore
they
feel
that
they
have
far
less
control
and
protection,
two
groups
of
girls
describe
guest
houses
and
hotels
as
holding
particular
fears
for
the
girls
(ranked
4
and
7,
respectfully).
Girls
suggest
that
they
are
often
duped
into
going
to
guest
houses
only
to
be
drugged,
photographs
taken
for
blackmail,
and
possibly
killed.
Hotels,
they
suggest,
are
also
used
for
rituals.
There
are
also
other
specific
locations
the
girls
fear
because
of
their
association
with
gangs,
heavy
labour
and
physical
and
sexual
threat.
The
football
stadium
(specifically,
stand
21)
is
described
as
a
territory
carved
out
by
groups
of
boys
but
where
‘butter
waist’
occurs
(ranked
9).
Long
Step
and
Wharf
(two
waterside
locations
mentioned
previously)
are
places
associated
with
street
gangs
and
‘gang
stars’,
where
girls
who
don’t
belong
risk
being
robbed
and
raped
(ranked
2
and
4).
Long
Step
is
also
seen
as
a
place
where
street
gangs
plan
future
robberies.
Natural
hazards
the
girls
mention
are
bushy
places,
where
there
is
the
threat
of
snakes
and
baboons,
and
fear
of
drowning
in
streams.
One
group
also
mentions
fear
of
‘Budo
Bush’,
the
hidden
places
of
the
secret
societies,
to
where
the
girls
say
they
are
forced
to
go
‘…
even
if
we
don’t
want
to’.
Over-­‐14
boys:
Cemeteries
and
shrines
are
fearsome
places
for
the
two
older
boys’
groups.
They
mention
ritualism,
cannibalism
and
kidnapping.
As
one
group
says,
it
is
a
place
‘…
used
for
evil
doings
…
God
is
not
there’.
As
with
the
other
groups,
the
older
boys
describe
negative
attributes
to
gamble
grounds
(i.e.
open
places
where
people
gather
to
gamble,
rum
bars,
ghettoes
(i.e.
place
for
dealing
drugs
usually
owned
by
the
drug
dealer)
and
night
clubs.
Associated
with
‘bad
people’
(e.g.
armed
robbers
and
older
boys),
for
the
boys
the
biggest
risks
are
of
physical
violence.
Boys
also
say
they
are
beaten
and
given
heavy
work
at
rum
bars.
Boys
also
associate
making
the
wrong
type
of
friends
at
gamble
grounds
and
acquiring
the
need
to
rob
to
feed
the
gambling
obsession.

15.
15
GOAL
Ireland,
Children’s
Empowerment
and
Protection
Sector
–
February,
2014
Again,
police
raids
are
frequent
in
all
these
places.
Police
stations,
police
cells
and
prisons
are
places
where
these
boys
experience
their
belongings
being
taken
from
them,
persistent
beating,
acquiring
sickness
and
learning
‘bad
habits’.
Specific
fearsome
locations
include
the
‘Constantine’,
the
‘football
stadium’
(ranked
9)
and
unfinished
buildings.
The
Constantine
(a
semi-­‐submerged
ship
which
acts,
as
mentioned
earlier,
as
a
place
for
stowing
stolen
goods
and
fuel),
one
group
says,
is
a
cold
place
to
sleep
–
bringing
on
colds
and
sickness
–
and
is
a
place
where
they
are
beaten
by
older
boys
with
no
one
to
defend
them.
Again,
the
boys
echo
the
attributes
given
to
unfinished
buildings.
However,
although
this
is
mentioned
it
is
not
clear
if
boys
as
well
as
girls
are
raped.
Places
of
environmental
threat
are
mentioned
by
three
groups.
Jetties
and
the
seaside
are
places
where
one
can
drown
but
also,
like
dump
sites,
place
where
sharp
hidden
objects
cause
injury.
2.1.3
Fearsome
things
Although
many
things
are
feared
by
all
groups,
specific
fears,
such
as
sexual
violence,
are
more
clearly
based
on
age
and
sex.
Sexual
violence
and
sexually
abusive
relationships:
Most
widely
mentioned
by
girls
in
the
session
on
‘fearsome
things’
was
violence
against
them,
with
two
dominant
themes:
rape
and
prostitution.
Within
prostitution,
one
group
of
under-­‐
and
two
of
over-­‐14
year
old
girls’
describe
the
threat
of
STI’s,
HIV,
fistula,
but
also
being
beaten
when
they
demand
payment
from
a
customer
who
does
not
intend
to
pay,
or
having
a
sissie
demand
that
they
pursue
a
customer
who
has
not
paid.
The
girls
also
fear
being
caught
in
a
cycle
of
abusive
relationships,
acting,
as
they
put
it,
as
‘…
sex
slaves’.
One
group
also
links
prostitution
with
being
denied
the
opportunity
to
go
to
school.
Rape
is
addressed
by
all
four
groups
of
girls
(rated
highly
at
1,
1,
2
and
3).
The
younger
girls’
groups
describes
a
common
experience
of
rape
or
attempted
rape
by
their
own
relatives.
Older
girls,
on
the
other
hand,
refer
to
rape
in
their
Freetown
environment.
They
fear
it
because
it
is
forceful,
sometimes
by
more
than
one
person,
they
become
infected
with
STIs
and
HIV,
and
because
‘…
[the
girls]
lose
self-­‐esteem’.
Girls
also
feel
abused
by
men
who
they
say
use
them
for
free
sex
and
then
dump
them
(ranked
2)
or
because
of
sexual
harassment
by
‘big’
men
(i.e.
important
men)
from
the
community
who
after
sex
then
speak
out
against
the
girls
to
the
community
(ranked
2).
Physical
violence
and
weapons:
Five
groups
mention
being
beaten
as
a
fearsome
thing.
One
group
of
girls
complains
that
sissies
and
policemen
beat
them.
They
further
complain
that
no
one
is
there
to
protect
them
when
in
trouble.
Beatings,
two
boys’
groups
claim,
cause
them
poor
health
and
means
that
they
have
to
seek
medical
assistance.
Mental
anguish
caused
by
beating
is
common
to
both
girls
and
boys,
bringing
them
‘…
pain,
stress
and
embarrassment’
and
‘…
torment’.
It
is
also
a
strong
cause
for
boys
to
run
away
from
home
and
girls
to
flee
their
‘auties’
homes
in
Freetown.
For
one
group
of
under-­‐14
girls,
fighting
is
also
fearsome
because
it
causes
‘damage,
and
loss
of
life
and
property.
Accompanying
the
threats
of
violence
comes
children’s
fear
of
weapons
for
their
purpose
of
wounding
and
killing.
Three
groups
of
boys
mention
their
fear
of
guns.
Next
come
knives,
blades,
‘cutless’
and
‘babylon’.
‘Babylon’
is
a
string
hung
with
lead
or
beads
that
children
say
is
used
to
beat
them
or
tie
them
up
and,
as
one
group
of
older
girls
explains
‘…
leaves
them
with
marks
all
over
their
body’.
One
older
group
of
girls
tells
of
their
fear
of
acid
attacks,
ranking
this
1
(although
they
did
not
mention
from
whom).

16.
16
GOAL
Ireland,
Children’s
Empowerment
and
Protection
Sector
–
August,
2014
Alcohol
and
drugs:
Children
draw
strong
links
between
violence
and
alcohol
and
drug
peddling
and
its
use.
Groups
mention
these
fourteen
times
under
this
section.
Children
describe
the
health
problems
of
smoking
‘jamba’
(marijuana
–
as
one
group
concluded,
causing
problems
to
lungs,
cancer
and
TB),
its
link
to
violence
through
loss
of
self-­‐control,
but
equally
the
dangers
of
being
caught
with
it
and
therefore
in
conflict
with
the
law.
Drugs
are
mentioned
five
times,
alcohol
and
smoking
‘jamba’
four
times
each.
One
the
flip
side,
one
group
states
that
drugs
reduce
their
stress
–
though
acknowledging
the
damage
to
health,
reputation
and
self-­‐control.
Animals:
Interestingly,
fearsome
animals
are
mentioned
nine
times
by
different
groups.
Snakes
are
mentioned
four
times
as
are
dogs
–
which
both
are
dangerous
and,
as
one
older
group
of
boys
admitted,
‘…
raises
the
alarm’
when
they
are
involved
in
theft.
Pigs
are
also
mentioned
three
times
‘…
because
they
have
awful
looks
at
times’
and
one
group
mentions
a
cow
because
it
can
cause
damage.
Children’s
economic
activities:
In
their
economic
tasks,
children
describe
work
they
do
not
like
doing
and
talk
about
some
of
the
hazards
associated
with
their
work.
The
older
boys
do
not
like
stone-­‐breaking
where
flying
fragments
of
rock
cut
and
wound
them,
especially
damaging
eyes
and
fingers.
However,
most
fearsome
things
for
boys
are
associated
with
searching
for
recyclable
material.
Three
groups
worry
about
exposed
electrical
wires
that
might
kill,
concealed
sharp
objects
that
cut
them
and
motorcycles
that
hit
them.
Younger
girls
dislike
selling
water
and
soft
drinks
and
heavy
work
around
collecting
sand,
gravel
and
stones,
and
carrying
heavy
goods
for
people.
Carrying
chilled
drinks
on
their
head,
they
complain,
gives
them
colds
and
makes
them
sick.
However,
they
equally
fear
the
approximation
to
violence,
motor
accidents
and
people
and
‘bad
friends’
who
introduce
them
to
drugs
and
theft
during
this
mobile
work.
One
group
of
older
girls
complains
of
little
sleep.
Two
groups
of
girls
–
one
younger
and
the
other
older
–
also
rank
their
exclusion
from
school
because
of
work
at
1
and
2.
They
are
strongly
aware
that
they
are
treated
differently
to
other
children.
Psychological
impact
of
exclusion:
Children’s
apparent
group
bravado
in
coping
with
fearsome
people
and
places,
despite
the
constant
threats
of
sexual
and
physical
violence,
perhaps
acts
as
a
coping
mechanism.
Below
the
surface,
children
admit
to
some
of
the
feelings
and
fears
that
this
bravado
seems
to
paper
over.
Boys
and
girls
talk
about
sickness,
bad
dreams
that
bring
‘…
torment’,
and
fear
of
darkness,
thunder
and
death,
which
brings
‘…
final
judgement’.
They
talk
about
their
relatives
false
promises
to
support
them,
their
stepmothers’
false
accusations
bringing
them
family
disapproval
and
marginalisation,
starvation
causing
them
to
depend
on
sex
work,
and
neglect
that
makes
them
‘…
feel
as
if
they
are
not
fit
to
be
part
of
the
society’.
Spirits
and
secret
societies:
Children
also
mentioned
activities
and
things
that
they
associate
with
the
spirit
world
seven
times.
Curses,
they
say,
brings
physical
and
mental
illness
and
death,
the
masked
devils
beat,
kill
and
bring
sickness,
the
Ariogbo
(a
‘masquerade’
attributed
with
supernatural
devilish
powers
that
are
used
to
foretell
the
future,
catch
witches/wizards,
freemasons
and
devils)
is
understood
to
make
false
allegations
against
people,
use
‘dangerous’
herbs
on
people,
and
are
mostly
‘witches’.
One
group
of
younger
girls
also
mentions
that
big
trees
are
not
only
destructive
when
they
fall
but
also
have
bad
spiritual
connotations.

17.
17
GOAL
Ireland,
Children’s
Empowerment
and
Protection
Sector
–
February,
2014
2.2
Children
coping
with
vulnerability
This
next
section
presents
finding
on
how
children
say
they
cope
with
vulnerability
in
street
and
hideout
contexts.
It
presents
the
reality
for
new
children
arriving
in
the
street
or
in
hideouts
for
the
first
time.
But
it
also
describes
how
children
navigate
between
and
negotiate
with
threatening
people
and
environments
to
mitigate
the
worst
forms
of
threat,
abuse
and
exploitation.
Strategies
that
include
(a)
engagement
with
significant
others
(e.g.
with
power
over
them),
(b)
health
seeking
behaviour,
and
(c)
economic
activities,
demonstrate
how
children
are
able
to
retain
some,
though
limited
control
over
threatening
people
and
abusive
environments.
2.2.1
Good
and
bad
relationships
Worries
for
a
child
arriving
in
the
street/hideout
for
the
first
time
When
first
arriving
on
the
street
or
in
a
hideout,
children
from
all
groups
describe
very
similar
realities
and
their
feelings
about
these.
All
groups
use
the
terms
panic
and
shame
to
describe
their
mixed
feelings:
panic,
because
of
the
realisation
that
survival
is
entirely
self-­‐referenced
and
how
they
themselves
find
money,
avoid
or
treat
sickness,
get
food
and
find
a
place
to
sleep
is
predominantly
dependent
on
the
individual
child.
They
feel
shame,
groups
mention,
because
they
can
no
longer
rely
on
being
respected.
Here,
all
boys’
groups
draw
attention
to
being
bullied,
beaten,
and
being
sexually
abused
(particularly
‘butter
waist’
–
anal
sex).
On
first
arrival,
they
also
describe
the
unfamiliar
street
environment
of
fighting,
smoking,
drug
use
and
police
harassment,
and
their
fear
of
being
drawn
into
this
and,
as
one
group
says,
“[The
fear
of]
meeting
bad
people.”
All
groups
describe
respect,
on
first
arrival,
only
in
relation
to
deference
to
others
with
power
over
them,
as
a
means
through
which
to
negotiate
relative
safety
–
with
a
sense
that
if
they
don’t
show
respect
something
even
worse
will
happen
to
them
(this
is
looked
at
in
more
detail
below).
In
this
sense,
one
group
talks
about
submissiveness.
Children
also
talk
about
loneliness
and
the
fear
of
death.
If
children
are
ill,
on
one
side
they
worry
about
who
to
tell
about
their
sickness
and
where
they
might
secure
and
pay
for
treatment.
On
the
other
side,
new
girls,
they
suggest,
worry
about
how
they
can
secure
a
place
to
sleep
safely
and
find
food
and
make
enough
money
to
support
all
of
these
needs.
One
girls’
group
suggested
that
there
may
be
an
initial
few
days
where
a
new
girl
feels
‘accepted
and
accommodated’,
but
this
is
soon
replaced
with
being
put
firmly
on
the
lower
rungs
of
the
pecking
order
by
sissies
and
older
street
children
and
the
expectation
of
quickly
paying
their
way
by
engaging
in
exploitive
labour
(particularly
fearing
being
pushed
into
prostitution).
How
children
manage
these
issues
Children
describe
a
number
of
strategies
for
coping
with
the
vulnerabilities
described
above.
All
groups
say
that
children
could
move
to
another
location
as
a
strategy
for
coping
with
too
much
violence
and
abuse.
Whilst
other
groups
talk
about
‘migration
away’
the
younger
girls
talk
about
‘running
away’
–
perhaps
indicating
the
relative
freedoms
(or
lack
of
freedom)
children
feel
they
have
based
on
their
age
and
sex.
However,
recognising
few
alternatives,
children
are
also
very
realistic
about
the
demand
on
them
to
adapt
their
behaviours
to
influence
the
powerful
others
who
populate
their
street
and
hideout
environment.
Behaviours
can
be
broadly
divided
into
‘submissive’
and
‘proactive’,
although
clearly,
rather
than
opposing