Table 1.

Repressive strategies to mitigate child and youth street involvement, human rights concerns, and impacts on health equity

Policy or intervention	Quotation from study participant	Existing	Proposed	Relevant provision(s) from the Convention on the Rights of the Child	Context	Impacts on health equity
Forced migration	“The county government of Uasin Gishu tried, they took all of them and took them elsewhere in Western, but they came back. The governor of Busia is the one who returned them, he said that they came from that direction [laughs].” (nurse/ counselor/social worker)	X		Article 2 on non- discrimination Article 15 on the right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly	Macro level: Public policy	↑ Exposure ↑ Vulnerabilities
Targeted violence by county askaris and law enforcement	“We have the local chief who is very brutal to us. Anytime we go for his help, he beats us up and we are often locked up by his AP officers after thorough beating.” (street-connected young person)	X		Article 2 on non- discrimination Articles 19 and 39 on freedom from all forms of violence Articles 37 and 40 on juvenile justice	Macro level: Public policy Meso level: Community Micro level: Individual	↑ Exposure ↑ Vulnerabilities ↑ Unequal consequences
Street sweeps and roundups	“There is a time we did a sweep in town, we got over 247, we tried to take them to institutions for temporary placement and planning on how we can try and trace maybe their homes, families, relatives, so it became a challenge because some of them will run away.” (children’s officer)	X		Article 2 on non- discrimination	Macro level: Public policy	↑ Exposure ↑ Vulnerabilities
Criminalization of street involvement	“Being on the street should be made an offense by the bylaws of the county government. It is a crime to be seen on the street according to the Children’s Act. If there is a bylaw, they will not be taken to prison. Children should be taken to institutions under the bylaw. The law should be that you pick a street child and take them to an institution. They are in the street because of bad associations, but actually it is illegal.” (police officer)	X	X	Article 2 on non- discrimination Articles 37 and 40 on juvenile justice	Macro level: Public policy	↑ Stratification ↑ Exposure ↑ Vulnerabilities
Remand homes, juvenile detention, and prison	“We also have a remand hall in [location redacted] and there was a time that street children and youths engaged themselves in crimes and the public was very hostile to them because two polytechnic students were murdered, and it was alleged that the street people did it, so in order to save them we had to round them up at the remand hall for sometime because it turned out very ugly.” (county children’s officer)	X		Article 2 on non- discrimination Article 20 on the right to special protection and assistance for children deprived of a family environment Articles 37 and 40 on juvenile justice	Macro level: Public policy	↑ Exposure ↑ Vulnerabilities
Separation of children from families	“I feel bad when I meet ladies with children, I usually feel like taking them home. If you take the mother, she will come back [to the street] so you just take the child.” (community member)	X		Article 9 on separation from parents	Macro level: Public policy	↑ Exposure ↑ Vulnerabilities
Forced sterilization and one-child policy	“For their population to be limited, the government should start a home for them and maybe force them and to stop more reproduction on the streets ... We should develop a policy like China, one family one child [laughs] because I have not read anywhere that there are street children in China, when you want another kid you must have a very good reason ... If you have one kid, there is a slim possibility that this child will run to the streets.” (clinical officer)		X	Article 18 on parental responsibility Article 6 on the right to life, survival, and development	Macro level: Public policy	↑ Vulnerabilities ↑ Unequal Consequences
Extrajudicial killing	“Activists are convinced that the county government has embarked on a policy of trying to rid Eldoret of its street children population by killing them or killing enough of them to force the others to flee.” (Guardian, October 10, 2016)	X		Article 6 on the right to life, survival, and development	Macro level: Public policy Meso level: Community	↑ Exposure ↑ Vulnerabilities