La inobservancia de la igualdad material y su incidencia en la delincuencia juvenil en Quito

Abstract

The research exposes the failure to observe and violation of formal and material equality protected by the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador in 2008. Through this study, it is possible to examine the reality faced by children and adolescents in Ecuador, with an emphasis on the Metropolitan District of Quito. The data obtained demonstrates the adverse socioeconomic conditions experienced by children and adolescents, such as poverty, extreme poverty, school dropout, child labor, and domestic violence. These conditions have led them to become involved in illegal activities. The objective was to analyze the incidence of noncompliance with substantive equality in the involvement of children and adolescents in organized crime. This study was conducted using a mixed methodology, with a qualitative approach for dogmatic, normative, and jurisprudential study. In addition, a study of statistical data provided by various public institutions was conducted. Based on the information obtained, it was determined that poverty, extreme poverty, underemployment, and school dropout rates varied during the periods 2023, 2024, and 2025, increasing and decreasing during each period without causing a decrease in juvenile delinquency, which has continued to rise. Thus, criminal proceedings against adolescents through September 2025 matched the statistical data for 2024. The main conclusions of this research show that failure to observe the right to material equality and lack of attention to the structural problems faced by children and adolescents create situations in which their fundamental rights are violated, facilitating their recruitment by criminal organizations.