CRC/C/GC/21 in times of economic crisis. 33 States should ensure that children in street situations are not affected by regressive measures in times of economic crisis. Article 5 on direction and guidance consistent with evolving capacities 35. To strengthen prevention, States should build the capacity of parents, extended families, legal guardians and community members to provide appropriate direction and guidance to children, helping them to take into account the child’s views, in accordance with their age and maturity; to provide a safe and supportive environment in which the child can develop; and to recognize the child as an active rights holder who is increasingly able to exercise those rights as they develop, given proper guidance and direction. The Committee has already elaborated the principle of the evolving capacities of the child: the more the child knows, has experienced and understands, the more the parent or legal guardian has to transform direction and guidance into reminders and advice, and later to an exchange on an equal footing.34 Children in street situations require particularly sensitive direction and guidance that respects their life experience. The majority of children in street situations maintain contact with families, and there is increasing evidence on effective ways to strengthen those family connections. If children in street situations have few or no positive connections with parents, extended families or legal guardians, then the role of community members, as referenced in article 5, takes on a stronger significance and this is understood to include support from trustworthy adults associated with civil society organizations. B. Civil rights and freedoms Article 15 on the right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly Overview 36. The realities in which children in street situations live do not fit traditional definitions or conceptualizations of childhood. They have a unique relationship to public spaces compared with other children. State restrictions on article 15 in relation to public spaces may therefore have a disproportionate impact on children in street situations. States should ensure that their access to political and public space in which to associate and peacefully assemble is not denied in a discriminatory way. Civil and political space 37. Association and peaceful assembly are essential for children in street situations to claim their rights, for example, through working children’s unions and child-led associations. However, the Committee has regularly expressed concern in its concluding observations regarding the lack of political space afforded to children to speak out. This is particularly constrained for children in street situations, who often lack connections with a trustworthy adult who may be required to legally register an organization. Children in street situations may lack support in completing paperwork and gaining access to information to develop association and peaceful assembly initiatives. Children in street situations may be paid to boost numbers in protests or gatherings. They may be vulnerable to exploitation and unaware of the implications of joining such events, raising complex questions regarding the need to balance protection and participation rights. However, as expressed by the Committee in its concluding observations, this should not be used as an excuse to curtail their right to association and peaceful assembly. Article 15 requires States to empower children in street situations to exercise their participation rights and counter co-option and manipulation by adults. 33 34 See general comment No. 19 (2016) on public budgeting for the realization of children’s rights, para. 31. See general comment No. 12 (2009) on the right of the child to be heard, para. 84, and general comment No. 14, para. 44. 13