The Undersecretary for Children, Yolanda Pizarro, indicated that the Government will carry out a cadastre “of all the children who are on the street working with their mothers.” This, after a video was broadcast on social networks in which two children are seen carrying knives on Paseo Ahumada, while they accompanied their mother, who worked as a street vendor.
“We are going to develop a protocol that allows us to work together with the municipalities, which are the ones that are permanently in the territories. From there, with that protocol, collect information regarding those boys and girls who are working with their mothers on the street “said Pizarro in conversation with CNN Chile.
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According to the authority, with the cadastre, “the children and adolescents will be able to enter school, they will be able to have health protection and mental health support and protection.”
“Single-parent household”
Regarding the case of the video, the undersecretary said that “most likely this is a single-parent home, led by a mother who has no one to leave her children with and, therefore, they go to the street and help her in this employment situation, which is not what we want for the children”.
In turn, he specified that the children “were not using bladed weapons; the knives were part of their mother’s work tool and theirs on the street, cutting the fruit, preparing it and selling it”.
“Obviously, the rights of these children were being violated, because they were in a work situation having to have been in school,” he said.
“What they do is take the knives to defend their mother, this shows us a situation of violation of rights. Most likely, regarding the reaction they had, is that they come from an environment of violence,” Pizarro added.
