Child labour

Child labour today represents the largest single cause of child abuse across the globe. Most of it takes place in economically less developed countries, and much is hidden. In a minority of instances the effects of child labour may be neutral or even positive, such as helping out in a family run shop during school holidays. In recent years therefore the emphasis has shifted from the abolition of all forms of child labour to the elimination of intolerable and hazardous child labour. The International Labour Organisation estimates that worldwide 110 million children aged 5-14 years are engaged in labour that can be described as hazardous or intolerable.¹ Most of this takes place in Asia and the Pacific, although the highest prevalence is in Africa, where children younger than 14 years make up a third of the total workforce.¹

Slavery, bonded labour, prostitution, and the recruitment of child soldiers are all intolerable and illegal. Yet in central and west Africa alone an estimated 200 000 children are traded each year.² Landlords can bond a child worker for as little as US$1.50 (£0.95, €1.50), and family debts are manipulated so that there is no hope of repayment. The commercial sexual exploitation of children is increasing, and organised networks can be found in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and, most recently, eastern Europe. An estimated 1 million children in Asia alone are victims of the sex trade, much of it focused around sex tourism.³ Paradoxically, as prostitutes the children often fall victim to the very legal system that should be protecting them. The recruitment of children as combatants is an increasing problem, and the factors responsible for this are becoming clearer.⁴ More than 10 000 boys and girls were forcibly recruited in the conflict in Sierra Leone as soldiers, cooks, porters, and sexual partners for male combatants.⁵

The bulk of child labourers work in agriculture and industry, often in hazardous environments. In 1992 in Pakistan, over two thirds of the estimated 1.5 million people employed in the carpet industry were children.⁶ Industrial and agricultural child labourers work long, monotonous hours, with few breaks. Their work is unremitting, their pay meagre. These children, especially those in export industries, represent the most familiar face of child labour to Western eyes. Less familiar are children in domestic service. In Indonesia alone there are an estimated 5 million child domestic workers, most of them female.² They are often handed over to employers, many of whom earn a relatively low income themselves, in the belief that they will be afforded a better life—a belief that is misplaced. Children in domestic service work long hours, isolated from friends and family. Educational opportunities are very rare, and if the children fall ill they must fend for themselves or are sent home. A culture of “social apartheid” often feeds this practice, and the belief that employers are somehow acting as benefactors has been described as unshakeable.⁷

Few reliable data exist on the health of working children. Most of the data that do exist comes from small scale studies of children involved in industry. The growth and development of children in industry and agriculture are severely compromised, and these children risk a wide range of diseases and injuries.⁸ Numerous reports describe poisoning, serious skin and other infections, chronic lung disease, cancers, burns, amputations, skeletal deformities, and impairments to hearing, vision, and immune function.⁸ Child prostitutes risk pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases including HIV infection, and children in domestic service are often victims of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse. Children in combat risk disease, disability, and violent death and former child combatants suffer from aggression, alienation, and an inability to interact socially.⁵,⁹ All children in intolerable and hazardous labour face a life of fear, isolation, hunger, and emotional and physical abuse.

RICHARD VOGEL/AP PHOTO

Most children who work do so as a means of survival, and working children have been shown to contribute up to almost 90% of the family income.¹⁰ Poverty is central to the continuation of child labour, but much can be done to tackle child labour independently of tackling poverty itself. International sanctions and consumer boycotts cannot in isolation end child labour, particularly if their sole focus is the export industry, which represents a fraction of all child labour. In 1992, a proposal by the US Senator Tom Harkin to ban the import of any product made by children caused panic in the Bangladeshi garment industry. Thousands of children were dismissed only to seek more hazardous employment. The proposal led some countries to draw up codes of good practice, much of which was not enforced once the furore had died down.¹¹

Tackling child labour effectively demands action on many fronts. The provision of education that meets children's developmental needs and prepares them for an adult working life is crucial. School curricula are too often rigid, uninspiring, and totally irrelevant. Education budgets have suffered at the hands of structural adjustment policies imposed by the World Bank or International Monetary Fund. Employers must be tackled, and employment sectors at risk should sign up to codes of conduct that are monitored and enforced. Examples of good practice can be seen around the globe.¹² There is also a role for trade unions in monitoring agreements and ensuring compliance, and in exerting influence at a political level.

Non-governmental organisations have an advocacy role and can work with communities to develop local leaders who can then prevent children going into hazardous employment. Many non-governmental organisations also provide services for children who have been traumatised by child labour.¹² There are many gaps in our knowledge about the effects of labour on the health of child workers, which are not conducive to randomised controlled trials. The day to day misery of many child workers remains hidden. The scientific community has a key role in determining the consequences for children, bringing this misery to light, and exerting pressure to effect policy change. Certain groups of child workers, such as domestic servants, have been almost ignored. Researchers need to work in close cooperation with national and local government and non-governmental organisations if they wish to reach children who are difficult to reach, and change adverse working practices. Considerable scope exists for researcher institutions in economically developed countries to link with similar institutions in countries where most child labour takes place. Research with child workers should be action based so that investigation goes hand-in-hand with better support services.

Some countries still do not recognise that ignoring or promoting child labour is not consistent with long term economic development. The greatest power for change lies in the hands of international policy makers and national governments. A pilot initiative has been launched in Pakistan with support from the European Community and the International Labour Organisation's international programme on the elimination of child labour. The comprehensive programme includes direct action with families, law enforcement, social and educational welfare, and the strengthening of non-governmental organisations. It remains to be fully reported.¹³

Current economic and social pressures are likely to push even more children into employment. It is vital that child labour remains a high profile issue . Tackling the intolerable and hazardous in a comprehensive and coordinated manner represents a practical way forward. In this there is a role for all of us.