Abstract

ESTRADA-JIMENEZ, Juan Manuel  and  MOJICA GOMEZ, Lina Mayerly. Child labor and extreme family situations. Rev. colomb. soc. [online]. 2018, vol.41, suppl.1, pp.189-204. ISSN 0120-159X.  https://doi.org/10.15446/rcs.v41n1supl.65837.

The article starts out by introducing the social narrative as a form of discourse that is incorporated into communicative processes and grounds human relations. It then goes on to explore child labour: first as a narrative, then, as a series of scientific arguments found in indexed journals, and, finally, as a political scenario in citizenship-building processes. The protagonist of the social narrative is a family facing an extreme situation, given that its income level is below the minimum salary and child labour is necessary to satisfy their needs. These relections on the value and the need for child labour and its regulation arise from the encounter between institutional authorities and the family. The family narrative is taken as the hermeneutic basis to delve into the scientific discourse in order to identify the concepts that define child labour as a social experience and unit of analysis. Indexed journals allow for the approach to the scientific discourse and make it possible to understand the situation of working children from different perspectives. According to this line of reasoning, childhood emerges as a group in which power creates market niches and exclusion. Participatory Action Research operates in two dimensions: as a hermeneutic tool to identify working children as a political force, and as a qualitative methodology to transform that population into the protagonist of its own change. Cross-referencing information provided by the narrative with that obtained from indexed journals leads to the identification of an extreme situation that jeopardizes the unity of the family. In the case studied, child labour puts the family face to face with other institutions, and the attempt to adopt protective measures can generate risk situations. The article offers ideas that should be taken into account when family and protection institutions come into contact due to unclear labour situations involving children. It also questions political actions regarding working children and highlights the need to broaden their capacity to participate in civil decisions, thus taking charge of their own destiny.

Keywords : child labour; family breakdown; institutionalization; participatory research; political participation.

        · abstract in Spanish | Portuguese     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )