Background and consequences of scavenging: a study on child scavenging in Tehran and its suburbs

Children in Tehran are engaged in various forms of labour, including scavenging, which is considered to be one of the worst forms of child labour. Scavenging by children is prevalent in Tehran, inflicting substantial harm to children and breaking various national and municipal rules and regulations. The purpose of this research is to examine the causes and repercussions of children scavenging in Tehran, as well as to propose a theory in this field. To do this, grounded theory was applied as a methodology, and interview and observation techniques based on purposeful and theoretical sampling methods were used to collect data. Also, to construct a theory, the literature in this field was reviewed. The study population consisted of scavenging children and adults. The three-step coding-and-analysis process described by Corbin and Strauss was used to code the data. The findings point to three contexts that have led to a rise in children scavenging: economic, such as poverty and the waste economy; socio-cultural, in the form of family settings and social networks; and policy-setting, such as waste-management regulations and practices. Eliminating child scavenging in Tehran necessitates a series of policy interventions in Afghanistan and waste management in Tehran; some recommendations are presented at the end of the paper.