Child labor in Bolivia

[2] Work in urban areas is divided along gender lines with girls mostly carrying out jobs in markets or domestic labor while boys do more physically strenuous labor in construction sites or working in garages, and children who work in domestic labor and on the streets are more susceptible to physical, verbal and sexual abuse as there is little protection for these children.

[9] Children involved in the worst forms of child labor such as mining, child prostitution, and strenuous plantation work live in deplorable living conditions and have limited access to sanitary water and good healthcare.

[10] Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in South America, with 45% of its population living below the poverty line.

[16] A study carried out by Zapata, Contreras and Kruger (2011) found that gender and ethnicity plays a role in the relationship between child labor and educational attainment in Bolivia.

[17] Access to high-quality education can be very limited, as is the number of secondary schools available to students especially in rural areas.

In Andean culture, work is seen as an important agent of socialization for children as it is an integral part of their inclusion into the wider community, and it enables them to learn traditional societal values.

[20] According to Hanson and Vandaele (2003), child laborers disagree with the Western perspective of childhood and claim their right to work in dignity as social agents in society [21] In the UNICEF Bolivia country program (2013-2017), they have pledged to increase technical support to management and monitoring systems social services that protect children from abuse and sexual exploitation.