Percepção e vivências de crianças e adolescentes submetidas ao trabalho: estudo exploratório

Aim: to understand the experiences and feelings that the exploitation of child labor generates in children/adolescents served by the Child Labor Eradication Program (PETI, acronym in Portuguese). Method: a qualitative study of participatory exploratory character, based on the creative method, with 20 children and adolescents aged from 7 to 16 years, through the technique of the discourse of the subject. Results: the study identifies the following thematic categories: Structural and emotional need as an indispensable support for its development; Family affectivity as a building element; The family structure of the child/adolescent exploited by the work; The related life experiences of children/adolescents exploited by work; Education as a way to break the cycle of oppression. Discussion: evidence of depression tendencies and suicidal ideation were found in the speeches. Conclusion: the experiences lived interfered in the physical and mental health of the deponents, hampering their process of healthy growth and development.