The Challenge and Opportunity to Fulfill Street Children’s Human Rights in Surabaya City Indonesia

Abstract

In the midst of this rapid globalization, there are still groups of people who are marginalized and have not fully experienced their welfare. One of them is a group of street children, who often get various exclusions from the social environment. Psychologically they are children who do not yet have strong mental and emotional readiness, but their circumstances or their desire to struggle with a harsh street life tends to have a negative influence on them. This article aims to describe the rights that street children have and the challenges and opportunities in terms of law and implementation of street children by the Surabaya city government. This study used a qualitative approach by taking locations at gathering points for street children, such as in the Taman Bungkul Surabaya, as the research subject. The data used in this study were obtained through interviews, observation, and documentation related to research, and the results of the data were analyzed using descriptive techniques. Efforts made by the Government through the drafting of Laws and Regulations, and through Institutions related to street children, namely the Kanwil Kumham and the Social Service to fulfill the rights of street children in practice do not run smoothly, but require community to participate by empowering the community and also to fulfill the rights of street children especially in the city of Surabaya.