RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Child labor is exploitative and harmful and deprives children of opportunities for a healthy life. Nonetheless, child labor is prevalent worldwide. Abusive working conditions are common, especially in developing countries. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed both to measure the prevalence of abuse in work environments and to identify possible risk and protective factors for such abuse in child laborers in Tehran, Iran. METHOD: The researchers conducted this cross-sectional study from September 2018 to May 2019 in Tehran and recruited 250 children from seven child labor support centers. RESULTS: The results demonstrated a relatively high rate of abuses experienced in work environments among Iranian child laborers: 77.6 % of children experienced at least one type of abuse, with emotional abuse (70.4 %) as the most frequently experienced abuse followed by neglect (52 %), physical abuse (5.8 %), and sexual abuse (3.6 %). Furthermore, living alone or with a single parent (OR = 3.15, CI 95 %: 1.33-7.45) was a risk factor, while working in home jobs (OR = 2.08, CI 95 %: 1.19-3.63), being male (OR = 0.19, CI 95 %: 0.06-0.55), and being older (OR = 0.32, CI 95 %: 0.17-0.60) were the protective factors of abuses experienced at work among child laborers. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study have implications for designing and implementing early interventions to provide less harmful work environments for child laborers. Further, advocacy efforts to prevent and eliminate child labor should be pursued.