CRC/C/GC/21 public community spaces, squares and bus and train stations. It does not include public buildings such as schools, hospitals or other comparable institutions. Key observations 5. There are different approaches used with respect to children in street situations, sometimes in combination. They include a child rights approach, whereby the child is respected as a rights holder and decisions are often made with the child; a welfare approach, involving the “rescue” of children perceived to be an object or victim from the street and whereby decisions are made for the child without serious consideration for her or his views; and a repressive approach, whereby the child is perceived to be a delinquent. The welfare and repressive approaches fail to take into account the child as a rights holder and result in the forcible removal of children from the streets, which further violates their rights. Indeed, claiming that welfare and repressive approaches are in the best interests of the child does not make them rights based.2 To apply the Convention, it is essential to use a child rights approach. 6. Children in street situations are not a homogenous group. Characteristics are diverse in terms of age, sex, ethnicity, indigenous identity, nationality, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity/expression, among others. This diversity implies different experiences, risks and needs. The nature and time spent physically on the street varies significantly from child to child, as does the nature and extent of relationships with peers, family members, community members, civil society actors and public authorities. Children’s relationships can help them survive on the streets and/or perpetuate conditions of violent abuse of their rights. Children engage in a range of activities in public spaces, including work, socialization, recreation/leisure, shelter, sleeping, cooking, washing and engaging in substance abuse or sexual activity. Children may engage in such activities voluntarily, through lack of viable choices or through coercion or force by other children or adults. Children may conduct these activities alone or in the company of family members, 3 friends, acquaintances, gang members, or exploitative peers, older children and/or adults. 7. Often, data are not systematically collected or disaggregated, so it is not known how many children are in street situations. Estimates fluctuate according to definitions used that reflect socioeconomic, political, cultural and other conditions. The absence of data makes these children invisible, which leads to policies not being developed or measures that are ad hoc, temporary or short-term. This results in the persistence of multiple rights violations that force children onto the streets and that continue when children are on the streets. This issue concerns every State. 8. Causes, prevalence and experiences of children in street situations differ within and between States. Inequalities based on economic status, race and gender are among the structural causes of the emergence and exclusion of children in street situations. These are exacerbated by material poverty, inadequate social protection, poorly targeted investment, corruption and fiscal (tax and expenditure) policies that reduce or eliminate the ability of poorer people to move out of poverty. Abrupt destabilization, caused by conflict, famine, epidemic, natural disaster or forced eviction, or events leading to displacement or forced migration, further compound the effects of structural causes. Other causes include: violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect at home or in care or educational (including religious) institutions; the death of caregivers; child relinquishment (including through HIV/AIDS); 4 2 3 4 4 See general comments No. 13 (2011) on the right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence, para. 59, and No. 14 (2013) on the right of the child to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration. For children in street situations with their families, this general comment focuses on the children as the main rights-holders. Where children in street situations have children of their own, the best interests of each generation of children must be a primary consideration. See general comment No. 3 (2003) on HIV/AIDS and the rights of the child, para. 7.