Street Children and the Juvenile Justice System in Cameroon

The term street children as defined by the UNICEF are boys and girls for whom the streets, in the broadest sense of the word has become their habitual abode and/or source of livelihood, who are inadequately protected, supervised and directed by responsible adults. The Street children, coming from different backgrounds for different reasons, usually become vulnerable and get involved in risky activities that push them in conflict with the law. In detention, they are maltreated and violated contrary to the laws in place. One of the major objectives of this study is to assess the extent to which the juvenile justice systems of Cameroon contributes to the increasing number of children on the streets as well as the extent to which this same systems protects these children in conflict with the law. The methodology used is the descriptive design, the most suitable for the collection of data related to street children in conflict with the law and the juvenile justice system.Although Cameroon has put into place the enabling local frameworks, the most significant challenge lies in the implementation, however, mich is desied at the level of providing sustainable mechanisms and infrastructure.