Resumen

MACHADO, Marília Novais da Mata  y  SILVA, Júnia Carine Cardoso da. Dilemmas in preventing sexual exploitation: the images of child work. Aletheia [online]. 2007, n.25, pp.49-65. ISSN 1413-0394.

The article revisited research works previously carried out in the Medium Jequitinhonha Valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil, by the Focus of Citizenship Program, aiming the prevention of children and teenagers’ commercial sexual exploitation. Especially important were the interviews with 34 young subjects pointed out by social organizations as having being sexually abused or exploited. The article’s main focus was on the issue of child work, trying to demonstrate the relevance of the social imaginary meanings of the work created by the youth. These subjective images seem to be central for the development of the young people’s identity, for their environment appreciation, for their availability to get out from sexual exploitation situations and for their reception or rejection of economic exploitation. These images are thus important elements for actions preventing sexual exploitation.

Palabras clave : Children and teenagers sexual exploitation; Child work; Social imaginary; Medium Jequitinhonha Valley.

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