The phenomenon of street children could have gender‐specific aspects. The cultural hypothesis emphasises the fact that the social roles assigned to boys and girls lead to gender‐based differences in the way that the process of migration onto the street is viewed. The validity of this hypothesis is tested using data on street children in Mauritania. Our study analyses the family background of the children. The results support this hypothesis. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. ‘The phenomenon of street children could have gender‐specific aspects’ Key Practitioner Message: Studies on street children do not usually provide comparison between boys and girls despite gender specificities being important. Differences in family structure have been correlated to child gender. For example, parental absence. No significant difference emerged in terms of physical violence between the two groups in the typology.