Abstract

PINZON, Ángela María; BRICENO, Leonardo; GOMEZ, Ana Isabel  and  LATORRE, Catalina. Child Labor in the Streets of Bogotá. Rev. Cienc. Salud [online]. 2003, vol.1, n.2, pp.151-163. ISSN 1692-7273.

There are many children working in the streets of Bogotá. The exact number is unknown and there is very little information available about this group. Methodology: Descriptive study. Children working in certain streets of Bogotá were surveyed on Saturday July 19th 2003. Results: A total of 162 children were surveyed, 52.5% boys and 47.5% girls; 38.5% younger then 5 years and 64.2% older; 61.1% were by themselves and the rest with an adult; 49.4% were children of displaced families and the others were children of families from Bogotá. A 33.3% rate of school desertion and a rate of 38.9% lack of social security affiliation were found. The lack of social security affiliation is higher in desplaced families and within this group it is higher in the families that have been living a short period of time in Bogotá. Discusion: Data suggest a strong relationship between child labor in the street and the problem of displaced families; a serious impact on school desertion, and long working hours exposed to various security, phisical, chemical, ergonomic, and psicosocial risk factors. There are three groups of children working in the streets of Bogotá: Children of displaced families; children that work in the streets, and children that live in the streets. Conclusions: Child labor in the streets of Bogotá is a serious problem, which requires attention based on knowledge of causes and the pursuit of effective measures for its eradication.

Keywords : Labor; child; Colombia; street.

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