Domestic child labour: bio-socio-economic profile and configuration of the activity in the city of João Pessoa, Brazil

Abstract

The paper reports on a research that aimed to characterize the activity of domestic child labour, in the city of João Pessoa, Brazil, with child and adolescents who study in municipal and state public school. The research had the participation of 100 subjects from both sexes, with ages between 7 and 18 years old. It used two instruments: the first identified if the child or the adolescent were workers, and the second was a questionnaire composed by open and closed questions, that contemplate, among others, aspects like socio-economic profile and activity. To analyze data, it was used descriptive statistics and the software SPSS. Results reveal that 34% were between 10 and 14 years old, and 25% between 15 and 16 years old. It was verified in concerning of gender (73% are girls), race/ethnicity (67% are afro-descendant) and social class (to 37%, familiar income was a quarter of minimum wage). 30% worked in shift, exercise from 9 to 15 work hours per day. They make domestic work, followed by taking care of people. The activity was configured as exploiter, naturalized, and invisible, and still demanded physical effort and stole leisure necessary to development.