Juvenile Delinquency and the Violation of Children’s Rights Due to Socio-Family Environments in Ecuador [Delincuencia juvenil y la vulneración de derechos de la niñez por entorno sociofamiliar en Ecuador]

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze the relationship between juvenile delinquency and the violation of children’s rights due to the socio-family environment in Ecuador. It employs a qualitative-descriptive approach with a bibliographic-documentary design, based on a review of national and international regulations, reports from organizations such as UNICEF and the Attorney General’s Office, and an analysis of the Las Malvinas case as a representative example of institutional neglect. The information was processed through hermeneutic analysis cross-referenced with specialized doctrinal, normative, and empirical sources. The results show that family instability, domestic violence, structural poverty, and school dropout rates constitute risk factors that facilitate the recruitment of adolescents by criminal organizations, in a context where public child protection policies exhibit persistent gaps between their normative design and their effective implementation. Criminal punishment, without socio-educational support, is insufficient to break the cycle of exclusion and criminalization of children.