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(analítico)Se exploran las prácticas institucionales que facilitan u obstaculizan la protección de los derechos de niños, niñas y adolescentes en el sistema de protección de la niñez en El Salvador. Partiendo de un diseño de etnografía institucional, se realizaron 61 entrevistas a trabajadores pertenecientes al sistema de protección. Como resultado, se identificó la ausencia de manuales que establezcan prácticas concretas en la aplicación de la Ley de Protección Integral de la Niñez yAdolescencia, obstruyendo su óptimo funcionamiento. A través del uso de la teoría del interaccionismo simbólico se explora cómo la interpretación discrecional o no entendimiento de la ley forma instituciones aisladas del sistema; también se analiza el grado en que las dinámicas socioeconómicas del país ponen en desventaja a los sectores rurales para acceder a estos servicios. Palabras clave: Sistema de protección; niñez y adolescencia; interaccionismo simbólico; El Salvador; ley Lepina; coordinaciones de sistemas, protocolos de prácticas, derechos humanos, prácticas institucionales.

Latino Critical Theory (LatCrit) posits that the invisibility of the Latinx identity in conversations surrounding race and ethnicity leads to an inability for Latinxs to identify, conceptualize, and verbalize their unique experience. This article explores Latinx youth’s experiences in Ontario’s education system and their invisibility throughout their educational journey. Based on qualitative interviews and focus groups with a total of 60 Latinx youth (aged 16 to 26), this study found that Latinx students do not see themselves represented by teachers and peers. Latinx youth struggled with situating their sense of community within the education system and the broader Canadian context, which impacted their identity as LatinxCanadians. The findings also showed that a lack of exposure and widespread recognition of the Latinx community by peers, teachers, and other stakeholders in positions of power create racially insensitive environments for students. Youth shared that they experienced a sense of placelessness, wherein they could not fully belong in a single space.

This article explores Latinx youth’s experience in the Ontario education system and the level of support they encounter throughout their education. Based on phenomenological qualitative interviews, this study found that Latinx youth in Ontario lacked sufficient support networks throughout their childhood and adolescence. Using Bourdieu’s theory of capital and education, as well as Latino Critical Race Theory (LatCrit), this research explores how a lack of access to relevant capital positions Latinx youth at a disadvantage in their educational attainment and how their unique experiences are unrecognized. This article is based on a total of 52 participants (27 one-on-one interviews and 23 participants in two focus groups). The findings indicate that youth perceive parents to have limited social networks, skills, and knowledge necessary to assist their children in the Ontario education system. School teachers, guidance counsellors, and principals who are positioned to provide supplemental support for marginalized youth often failed to provide any significant guidance. Youth were faced with finding alternative modes of support or depending entirely on themselves. Given the lack of discourse surrounding the unique experience of the Latinx minority, the experiences of Latinx youth remain mostly unseen.

As populations around the world adjust to a new reality shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, across Latin America an estimated 113 million people living in low-income neighbourhoods are struggling to make ends meet with the ongoing lockdown and social isolation procedures (Phillips et al., 2020). In addition to the looming threat of infection, more impoverished populations must contend with the day-to-day struggle of trying to stay afloat financially and the actual feasibility of practising social distancing. Among the most vulnerable populations are refugees and migrants, who are exposed to even more significant hardships as governments attempt to navigate the pandemic (UNHCR, 2020). The already precarious financial situations and housing of most refugees have worsened as host countries make efforts to provide supports and programs for their populations – initiatives which do not necessarily take into account the situations of most refugees. For Venezuelan refugees in particular, the threat to their safety, security, and futures has been further compounded in the course of the pandemic.

The commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) involves children in any sexual exchange with an adult for compensation—monetary or non-monetary. This article explores the experiences of sexually exploited children in the Dominican Republic. This research seeks to understand the impact global economies have on local realities and how these complex systems impact the everyday realities of young, impoverished children in the Dominican Republic. This article's findings are based on 19 interviews with children who were sexually exploited for compensation and seven interviews with parents of children who had been sexually exploited. The findings indicate that children firmly believed that they decided to engage in sexually exploitative encounters; however, all participants expressed to some degree that they did not have a choice. Further, nearly all the participants advised other children from getting involved in sexual exchanges for compensation, given the emotional toll it would have.

This narrative qualitative study explored the lived experiences of Salvadoran refugees who came to Canada after fleeing the civil war in El Salvador. The research aimed to examine the experience of Salvadoran refugees who arrived between 1980 and 1992. During this period, the Canadian government enacted special measures which allowed for Salvadorans to seek refuge in Canada. The experiences shared by participants explored their experience with the traumas of war, migration and eventual settlement in Toronto. The theoretical framework drew on the coloniality of power and structuration theory. These experiences were considered within a broader context of what it meant to be a Salvadoran refugee in Toronto, both in ongoing connections to their country of origin and their country of settlement over thirty years later. The narratives of the participants provide insights into the complex negotiations into the experiences of refugees forced to flee and reorient themselves in a new society. Key words: Salvadoran, refugees, experiences, civil war, identity, Latinx, Toronto