Begging ‘professionally’ doesn’t make their poverty and vulnerability any less legitimate
- Written by James Petty, Honorary Fellow in Criminology, University of Melbourne
Last week, Victoria Police arrested seven people who were alleged members of a professional begging “syndicate”. They were flown in from China on tourist visas.
In reporting this story, Australian media generated a considerable amount of public outrage. The idea that people who beg are somehow “faking” homelessness or...
Read more: Begging ‘professionally’ doesn’t make their poverty and vulnerability any less legitimate