Untitled - Terre des Hommes

Bolivia
1. Introduction and background to child exploitation
There were 800,000 children estimated to be working in Bolivia in 2001 (UNICEF in Terre des
Hommes 2008: 35-36 ), but many believe this figure to be even higher. The Instituto Nacional de
Estadística or National Statistics Institute (INE), together with UNICEF, estimated in 2004 that there
were 493,553 children working in rural areas, 116,000 children aged seven to thirteen active in the
goods and services sector and 729,000 adolescents from fourteen to seventeen performing some type
of economic activity in Bolivia ( INE-UNICEF in Terre des Hommes 2008: 35-36). Child labour is also
prevalent in the urban areas; 14% of children in Sucre are working according to Defensoría de la Niñez
y Adolescencia (Local Ombudsperson for Children and Youth). Some of Bolivia’s working children are
able to combine work and school, but many drop out of school in order to earn money. At the main
cemetery in Cochabamba, for example, a large majority (91%) of the working children are also
attending school 115 while only about 50% of the working children in Potosí are attending school. 116
The conceptualizations of certain notions within Bolivian culture have implications for how child
labour is viewed and dealt with in society. There is much debate around child labour going on in
Bolivia and the interviewees to this report were split on varying aspects of the issue. Cecilia Erostegui
from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explains that in Bolivia there is no real concept of childhood as a
separate stage of life, but that children are considered full members of the family, with a
responsibility to contribute what they can to the household. Working alongside the family and
contributing to the household income is seen as part of the child’s education and socialization
process, especially in the rural areas. 117 Others, such as Silvia Escobar dne Pabon from the research
centre CEDLA argue that child labour is not a cultural issue and that the majority of Bolivians in both
rural and urban areas believe, at least in principle that children should be in school rather than
working. 118 There is also a policy debate going on about children’s right to work versus their right to
protection and hence about whether to regulate working conditions or to abolish child labour
altogether. Defining which types of labour are exploitative is seen by some as central to judging
which types of work children should have a right to do and what should be prohibited. Those on the
abolitionist side of the debate feel that this distinction is arbitrary, and that children should not be
involved in any type of work.
Some of the background necessary to understanding child labour in Bolivia can be found by looking
at family structures. It is common for men to migrate great distances for work; temporarily or
permanently abandoning their families. There are many broken families and remarriages and it is
common for children to face abuse and neglect at the hands of stepfathers. Often children do not form
an emotional bond with their parents or siblings and in combination with the great amount of
responsibility they take on at a young age, lead very independent lives from early on.
Violence against children is a large-scale problem in Bolivia. According to a different study by INE
and UNICEF (2007), half of Bolivia’s child population - about two million children - have been
physically and psychologically abused at some point in their life (INFANTE 2009: 3). Although this
abuse takes place in schools, in shelters, on the streets or at the hands of law enforcement agents, 83%
of physical abuse happens within the family. Other data, by Ipas Bolivia and Marie Stopes
115
Mr. Cristóbel Gonzales Ugalda (Audiovisuales Educativos (AVE))
116
Ana Maria Janco (Care Potosí)
117
Cecilia Erostegui (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores)
118
Silvia Escobar dne Pabon (El Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo Laboral y Agrario(CEDLA))
51