{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,25]],"date-time":"2026-10-25T01:36:21Z","timestamp":1792892181820,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (WHO\/EMRO)","issue":"5","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["East Mediterr Health J."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,26]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Child labourers are exposed to an insecure environment and higher risk of violence. Violence among child labourers is an under-studied phenomenon which requires contextual assessment. Aims: We applied Bronfenbrenner\u2019s ecological model (micro-, exo- and macro-system) to understand the interplay of individual, community, societal and policy context fuelling violence. Methods: Focus group discussions and family ethnographies of child-labourers working in common occupational sectors of suburban areas of Sindh were carried out to gain in-depth understanding of their immediate environment and abuse (micro-system). Frequency of emotional, physical and sexual violence (5\u201314 years; n = 634) was also determined. Indepth interviews with employers (exo-system, n = 4) and key-informant-interviews of prominent stakeholders in Pakistan (macro-system, n = 4) working against labour\/violence were carried out Thematic-content analysis was performed using MAXQDA, version 8.0. Results: We estimated that 21%, 19% and 9% of children suffered from emotional, physical and sexual violence respectively. Child labourers\u2019 interviews indicated the existence of all forms of abuse at home and in the workplace; sexual violence by grandfathers was highlighted (micro-system). Children reported frequent scolding and insults in the workplace along with physical violence that could be fatal (exo-system). The legal environment of violence in Pakistan was considered deficient as it did not address the hidden forms (touching, kissing, etc.; macro-system). Conclusion: We documented that all forms of violence were rampant among the child labourers, and improved efforts and comprehensive legislation is direly needed to alleviate the situation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.26719\/2021.27.5.501","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,26]],"date-time":"2021-05-26T15:30:43Z","timestamp":1622043043000},"page":"501-508","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Violence and abuse among working children in urban and suburban areas of lower Sindh, Pakistan"],"prefix":"10.26719","volume":"27","author":[{"given":"Meesha","family":"Iqbal","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zafar","family":"Fatmi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kausar","family":"Khan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Asaad","family":"Nafees","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"11263","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,26]]},"container-title":["Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/applications.emro.who.int\/EMHJ\/V27\/05\/1020-3397-2021-2705-501-508-eng.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,26]],"date-time":"2021-05-26T15:30:44Z","timestamp":1622043044000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/applications.emro.who.int\/EMHJ\/V27\/05\/1020-3397-2021-2705-501-508-eng.pdf"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,26]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"5","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,26]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,26]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.26719\/2021.27.5.501","relation":{},"ISSN":["1020-3397","1687-1634"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1020-3397","type":"print"},{"value":"1687-1634","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,26]]}}}