Why is securing legal identity so important for street-connected children?

For the millions of street-connected children worldwide, obtaining a legal identity is a vital, life-changing step towards security and opportunity. Without legal documentation, which is usually a birth certificate or ID card, these children are often denied access to the very rights and opportunities they need to thrive.
That’s why our programmes at Street Child United (SCU) are dedicated to advocating for the rights of street-connected children to have a legal identity, a core pillar of our ultimate mission to empower street-connected youth globally.
Why legal identity matters
A legal identity serves as a key that unlocks essential public services like education, healthcare, protection from violence.
For children in street-connected situations, these services are critical lifelines, and access to them empowers children to have happy, healthy futures that are full of opportunities.
1. Access to education
Education is more than a fundamental human right; it’s also a pathway out of poverty and exploitation for many children.
But without legal identity, many street-connected children face challenges to enrol in school altogether. Without access to education, many are left illiterate and as a result battle with limited future opportunities.
2. Access to healthcare
Legal identity also grants street children access to healthcare services, which are often denied to those lacking official documentation.
This is all the more important as health is often a critical concern for street-connected children, who are at higher risk of illness and injury.
Indeed, many suffer from malnutrition, infections, or untreated chronic conditions. In the worst cases, the absence of an ID and subsequent refusal by medical institutions to provide treatment can mean the difference between life and death.
3. Protection from exploitation and violence
Street-connected children are among the most vulnerable to abuse, exploitation, and violence, including human trafficking and child labour.
Having a legal identity provides a child with recognition and protection under the law. It enables authorities to intervene when they are mistreated and to hold perpetrators accountable.
4. Promoting gender equality
Girls living in street-connected situations are particularly vulnerable as gender-based sexual violence, exploitation and sexism disproportionately affect them.
Legal identity can empower girls by giving them with equal access to opportunities, education, and healthcare, while safeguarding them from abuse.
Barriers to obtaining legal identification
Despite how important legal identification is, street-connected children often encounter significant barriers to successfully obtain it.
A large number of street-connected children were never issued birth certificates, a common issue in marginalised communities. Without a birth certificate, applying for an ID becomes nearly impossible, creating a vicious cycle of exclusion. What’s more, because many are born outside hospitals or without the formal registration of their birth, the process of obtaining a birth certificate is arduous.
Even in countries with relatively accessible registration systems, bureaucratic obstacles can hinder a street-connected child’s ability to secure legal identity. Children, and – where present – their families, are often unaware of legal processes and so may struggle to navigate complex systems that demand official forms, witness testimonies, or parental presence – requirements that street-connected children often cannot meet.
Taking action with our ‘One Million and One’ campaign
Without intervention and systemic change, these children are likely to remain trapped in the same cycles of poverty and vulnerability that drove them onto the streets in the first place. Already marginalised by society, this makes it even more challenging for them to integrate into society and secure stable jobs or housing in the future.
That’s why SCU’s ‘One Million and One’ campaign, launched at our 2022 Street Child World Cup in Qatar, aims to tackle the issue of legal identity head-on.
This initiative has one key goal: to ensure that over one million street-connected children across the globe receive legal identification by our next World Cup event in 2026.
Through amplifying the voices of these children and partnering with local grassroots organisations, the campaign will actively secure identities for young people while advocating to dozens of governments for systemic, long-lasting change to public policy.
In doing this, we take another step towards a future where every street-connected child has the legal identity they need to fully access their rights, protections, and opportunities.
Check out the ‘One Million and One’ campaign website to find out how you can get involved in our fight to secure all-important legal identities for children across the globe!.